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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714756">The Butterfly Effect</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessfangirl/pseuds/jessfangirl'>jessfangirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alive Reginald Hargreeves, But the Sparrow Academy is still a thing, But thirteen-year-old Number Five still shows up in 2019, Child Abandonment, Child Abuse, Eudora Patch Lives, F/M, Gen, Going back to 2019 happens a little differently, Hurt Number Five | The Boy, No Incest, Number Five | The Boy Dies, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Reginald Hargreeves Bashing, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sibling Bonding, We're just going to pretend like Allison and Luther are best friends, Written before season 3 so I took some liberties with the Sparrow Academy characters, and Raymond and Lila, just as an actual child, kid number five, mentions of Sissy and Dave, so he is still around, the sparrow academy - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:13:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>33,286</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessfangirl/pseuds/jessfangirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Turning back time does not heal Five's wounds, and he succumbs to his injuries surrounded by his siblings.<br/><br/>In 2019, the Hargreeves have to deal with wildly different versions of their lives than the ones they left, mourning their oldest brother, and facing the fact that their father has a brand new superhero team that includes their no-longer-deceased brother, Ben.<br/><br/>If that wasn't complicated enough, thirteen-year-old Number Five has just time traveled into 2019 and is stuck. This time, there is no apocalypse.<br/><br/>This time, there is his father, and a group of superheroes that weren't at the academy when he left.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Diego Hargreeves/Eudora Patch, The Hargreeves Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>657</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey, guys. Just a few notes! The beginning of this story does include Number Five, as we know him, dying. I was bothered by the fact that Five's time travel suddenly healed him, when every other time he has used time travel, that wasn't the case (I.e, when Allison arrived in the 1960s and still had her throat cut). And then I was thinking about how if they stop the apocalypse, little Number Five would appear eventually, so I was like, hey, lets combine both of these ideas into a story.<br/>And then I got thinking about the Sparrow Academy and I got excited about it and... voila. Here we go.<br/>Keep in mind that this isn't completely canon. Not only does Five die, I had it so that they get a different kind of briefcase that would put them in their bodies instead of just transporting them, so that I could avoid the paradox problem, and we are going to ignore the whole Luther/Allison thing. Other than that, you can assume that everything else is canon up to the end of Season 2.<br/>And also, I searched high and low for information on the Sparrow Academy, but I couldn't find much, so I took some liberties with their characters, including their personalities and powers.<br/>Hope you guys enjoy! Heed the tags, and don't forget to leave a comment on what you think!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I know that we can be your family,” Diego said, voice softer than Vanya had ever heard from him, “if you just let us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched the scene with her heart in her chest, fingers glowing dimly, terrified that this woman would reject her brother’s offer and return her assault on her family. This woman, who could mimic their powers, who was just as dangerous, if not more so, than Vanya herself, could very well be leading him on, leading them all on before attacking. Vanya knew what it was like to have someone you loved lead you on like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eyes. She heard an unfamiliar gasp moments before she caught sight of Five wrestling a gun out of a blonde woman’s grasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman’s hands flew up above her head, tense at the realization that Vanya’s brother had bested her, and Five…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five was covered in blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s true, isn’t it?” Lila spoke, but Vanya couldn’t tear her eyes off of her littlest (oldest) brother, “What Five said.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman didn’t respond, and Vanya took a step forward, closer to Five, who spit a glob of blood on the floor. He wavered briefly but stood his ground, expression firm as he kept the weapon trained and steady. Blood was growing on his vest, and she could see it dripping off the bottom of his shorts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When did he get injured? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Answer me! Is it true?” Lila demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vanya heard the gunshots before she saw the man at the door. She jumped back, eyes wide as the woman crumpled to the ground. Blood spilled out of her lips, staining the hay on the ground, and Vanya could only spare her a glance before she was running towards her brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five, are you-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The case!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a flurry of motion as Lila darted for the briefcase. Diego jumped in front of Luther, causing them both to hit the ground. Vanya reached for Five’s arm right as Lila disappeared in a flash of light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His sleeve was wet with blood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged her off as he stepped forward, standing in front of her and her siblings and aiming the gun at the man in the doorway. His shoulders were trembling, and Vanya could see a hole, a very distinct bullet hole, exiting his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man aimed his gun at Five, and Vanya’s fingertips glowed. She stepped forward, but then Five was dropping the gun on the ground, stepping back on unsteady feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Vanya was sure the man would shoot. She grabbed Five’s arm again, and he didn’t shrug her off this time, instead leaning into her suddenly. Vanya felt her eyes turning white as she stared at the man down, ready to attack if he tried to harm any of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he didn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dropped his gun on the ground as well, and he spoke in swedish, “Enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned his back on the six siblings, and he walked away from the barn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the three people who had attacked them either dead or gone, Vanya felt her powers finally ebb back. She was safe. They were s-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five collapsed into her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five,” she gasped. Her arms quickly wrapped around him as she sat him on the floor, struggling under his weight, “Five, what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blood trickled down his chin. He took in a strangled breath, and his hand jerked up and grasped her wrist in a weak grip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Time travel,” he said, voice barely louder than a whisper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a hand on her shoulder. She jerked her head up to Allison as her sister knelt down beside them. There were tears in her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five, where were you hit?” she asked in a trembling voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five didn’t answer, but his green eyes flicked to her, then darted behind both of them, where Vanya was sure Luther, Diego, and Klaus were standing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“S-saved you,” Five said. He made a gurgling sound at the back of his throat, and Vanya reached out with a shaking hand and tilted his head to the side. He spit blood out again and took in a desperate breath, “Safe now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A sob left Vanya’s mouth. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it, nodding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Five,” she whispered, and even though she had no way of knowing exactly what happened that had caused Five to time travel with numerous bullet wounds, she could assume it had something to do with the woman with the gun, “You saved us. You did it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Diego was on his knees on Five’s other side suddenly. He grasped his other hand, and Vanya briefly noticed the tears streaking down the man’s cheeks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-you’re okay, F-f-five,” Diego stuttered out, and Vanya nodded in agreement, desperate to believe it, “Y-y-you’re going t-to be f-fine. Just b-b-b-breathe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t going to be fine. They could all tell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go,” Five spoke. He took a breath, struggling to get his words out, “Home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will, and you’re coming with us,” Luther said from above Vanya. His voice was steady, but when Vanya looked up, she could see the fear in his eyes, “You can’t die on us now, Five.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You still have to meet Claire,” Allison agreed. Her hand came out, wiping some blood off of Five’s forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Five said. His eyes trailed away from Allison, coming to rest up at the ceiling, and he took in another stuttered breath. Vanya squeezed his hand, another sob leaving her lips, and shook her head frantically. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no stopping this, she knew. There was no mom around the corner to stitch him up, no Pogo to jump in and save the day. The nearest hospital was a thirty minute drive from the farm, and the first aid kit at the house would do little to help his wounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no going back in time to stop this. Not anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five was going to die.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vanya sniffed. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his bloody forehead as his eyes fluttered closed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” she whispered into his ear, “We all love you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes opened once more, connecting with hers. He didn’t speak, but she understood what he meant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can rest now, Fivey,” Klaus said, his voice impossibly soft as he knelt down behind his head and carded his fingers through Five’s matted hair, “Don’t stick around, okay? You can rest. Ben is… he’s waiting for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Diego let out a broken cry. He brought Five’s hand up to his cheek, and Vanya wondered if Five had ever known that he would die surrounded by his family, or if he had thought he would die alone, stranded in the apocalypse or on a mission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held Ben as he left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would do the same for Five.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes slipped closed again, and Vanya’s breath hitched as he let out his last breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was gone.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The hours that followed Five’s death were a blur for Klaus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He vaguely registered Vanya calming Harlan down and Diego in a discussion with a small man called Herb who handed over a modified briefcase that would somehow eliminate the danger of paradoxes, and there was a brief argument over whether they should bury Five at the farm or take him home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They decided to bury him at the farm. There were too many risks that came with taking him with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dimly recognized that Vanya and Allison went to say their goodbyes, too, and he realized, with a pang, that there was no one for him to say goodbye to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Five was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Really gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus had seen him briefly, just after he had died. His ghost had appeared outside of his body the moment he gave his last breath. He was his proper age in ghost form, no longer stuck in the body that he so desperately hated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I never said it,” Five had spoken to him, “but I love all of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus nodded through tears. His siblings watched him. They knew what he was seeing. They didn’t believe him the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We love you, too,” he told him, “Thank you, Five. For saving us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So many times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was my job,” Five said. He smiled, a genuine smile, and Klaus tried to remember the last time he had seen that on his brother’s face, “You’re safe now. You’re alive. That’s all I ever wanted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he was gone. He did not stick around like Ben, instead following the light, resting, just like Klaus told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you ready?” Diego asked him, breaking him out of his thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up from his spot on Sissy’s couch and blinked at his brother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah,” he said, nodding as he pushed himself off the couch, “Ready to leave one apocalypse and return to another.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know that,” Diego said, but his grip tightened on the briefcase, “And if it, we can always come back. Or go anywhere we want with this thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus almost made a comment on how he wouldn’t mind seeing the dinosaurs, but he was honestly done with time travel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If they had stopped the apocalypse, he was staying in 2019.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Allison eyed the briefcase in Diego’s hands as they stood outside of Sissy’s farm. She clutched Vanya’s hand tightly and swallowed, eyes burning. She could see blood on Luther’s shirt from carrying Five’s body, and she didn’t want to think about that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t want to think about how close they had been to having their brother back, because in the few days that he had been back in their lives, they had not been able to truly reconnect. Not when two apocalypses had been at the forefront of his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now they never would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what exactly does this do?” Klaus asked from Allison’s left, eyes on the briefcase, “If it’s so… special.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Diego glanced up. There was some smeared blood on his lip that was his own and dried blood on his hands that wasn’t. He clutched the handle with white knuckles, tense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Herb said it will put us back in our bodies. We will still retain all of our m-memories, but there won’t be two of us running around in 2019. Instead of dropping us off somewhere, like when we landed in that alleyway, we will appear right back to where we were at the time set, which is March 25th, 2019. The funeral.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spoke emotionlessly, quietly, as if simply repeating directions. No one missed the slight waver in his voice, though. He looked up, eyes locking with Vanya.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s several days before the apocalypse. We can save Pogo, and M-mom, and Patch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Allison nodded as Diego spoke. That was good. Luther had filled her in on the whole two Fives fiasco. She would rather avoid trying to kill herself if she could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she would rather not end up in a body that couldn’t speak again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She licked her lips and reached over, grasping Klaus’ hand in her own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s get this over with,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others nodded, and after a short pause of Klaus racing over to grab a floppy, black hat, the five siblings disappeared in a flash of light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>March 25th, 2019 meant that Allison should find herself at the Academy with Luther, Diego, Klaus, and Vanya. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, Allison woke up in a soft, but unfamiliar, bed. Her eyes snapped open, staring up at an equally unfamiliar ceiling. Soft music was playing throughout the room, and light filtered in through the curtains. She could faintly hear birds chirping from outside, mingling in with the music, and the scent of vanilla drifted through the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” she whispered to herself. She pushed herself off of her bed, her bare feet touching cool hardwood floors. She glanced down and frowned at her clothes. She couldn’t remember wearing these pajamas on this day, let alone buying them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a knock at her door. She jumped, head turning as the bedroom door slowly opened. A head peaked through, cheerful brown eyes gazing over at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Morning, Mom!” the child said before disappearing from the door. Allison could hear small footsteps heading away from her door, and she stared, eyes wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Claire?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A New Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Hargreeves are back in 2019, but it isn't the life that they remember.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>December 24th, 2002. </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sir Reginald Hargreeves remembered the six humans that he had dinner with back in 1963. He remembered them well. He remembered the idiotic one with a useless plan to save the president. He remembered the big, sad one blaming him for his deformity. He remembered the small one with hardly any control over her powers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He remembered the threat of the apocalypse, and the absolute failure of a team that they were.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was why, when he adopted seven children, he knew that he was going to have to train them to be the perfect team. There would be no room for nonsense, no room for disrespect. He would make sure they did not grow up into the worthless nobodies that he had met all those years ago. They would be the Umbrella Academy. Properly, this time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They grew up, and he worked to eradicate those traits that he had seen in the adult versions, attempting to mold them into exactly who he wanted them to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Number Five, the one child that he had even a semblance of respect for when they met in 1963, ran out during dinner with the same foolish idea of time travel that Hargreeves had attempted to drill out of him, remembering their conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t come back. The next day would be two weeks since his disappearance, and he had not returned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should have known better,” he said, hands crossed on his desk as he stared at his journal, where notes on all of the children had been collected. Grace, standing across from him, watched on emotionlessly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had thought about getting new members for the team when the forty-three children had been born, but he was quick to find out that there was a reason that he had ended up with the seven he got in the first place. They were the only ones he could find.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All the others were either born to women who refused to give them up, or, as he found was the case for six babies, they were killed at birth from fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The seven that he got came from families who did not want them, who were eager for the money that Hargreeves offered them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So he ended up with the six that he had met in 1963, and a seventh who he was sure was the one that they mentioned had died.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He should have just waited.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do not know enough about what I previously did raising these children,” he said to Grace. He grabbed his pen, writing down a few notes in his journal as he spoke, “Number Five has already gone down the same path that he originally did. I did nothing to alter his course of events. I most likely have done nothing to alter their other courses either. These children are worthless. In a few years time, they will be reduced to a bunch of disrespectful, blithering fools.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The children are making great progress in their training and studies,” Grace said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reginald looked up sharply and stabbed his pen into his journal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not good enough,” he said. He closed his journal and stood up, facing the android, “I want Numbers One, Two, Three, Four, and Seven gone. Number Six can stay. His powers are promising, and without the others’ foolish activities, I am sure that he will survive into adulthood.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A flicker of surprise came across Grace’s face. A pause passed between them before she responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where should I take them? I’m sure the children would enjoy a trip out of the house.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t care where. Take them to an orphanage, drop them off in a park, or eliminate the problem all together. Just make sure they do not return. I do not need distractions while I am finding their replacements.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was another pause, but Reginald paid it no mind. Grace’s programming meant that she would not disobey his orders, whether or not she liked them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sir, I am unsure as to what you mean by replacements.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“New children,” he clarified, “By now, they should have shown their powers, which is bound to have caused some problems in their families. I should have better luck now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sir-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do as I said, Grace,” Reginald said, offering her one more glance before grabbing his coat, “I expect them gone by the time I return home.”</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <b>March 25th, 2019</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The briefcase should have dropped all five of them at the Academy. Diego knew this. Yet, instead, he found his bare feet hitting the tiled floor, standing in the middle of a foreign kitchen, holding a pan that contained sizzling bacon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nearly dropped the pan, but settled for setting it on the stove and quickly turning it off, eyes wide as he backed up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This wasn’t the Academy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Diego, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His head snapped to the side, and he found himself staring at one Eudora Patch sitting at a nearby table. She was dressed in her uniform, ready to go in for work, and her hand was raised, holding a spoon of baby food in front of a baby girl in a high chair with round, brown eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a step back, bumping into the stove. His hand reared back unconsciously to keep himself from falling, and he touched the still-hot burner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah!” he cried out, pulling his hand away quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Diego,” Eudora said, quickly setting the spoon down on the highchair table and rushing over. She grabbed his wrist and guided him over to the sink, running his burned hand under the water, “What’s wrong? Did you sleep okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His tongue darted out between his lips as he looked at her, eyes wide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Last he heard, Eudora definitely did not have a daughter. And the closest Diego had come to inside of Eudora’s house in the past four years was her front porch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I-I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eudora frowned. Her eyes flickered with concern and confusion, and Diego tried to force words to come out of his lips, but he couldn’t find any. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was wrong. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What had they done?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is daddy okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His head snapped to the side again, and he stared at a three-year-old boy standing at the doorway, clutching a blanket behind him, brown hair messy. He was blinking up at Diego, eyebrows furrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, Isaac. Your dad just hurt his hand,” Eudora said with a warm smile that Diego had never seen before. He stared back at her incredulously, “Is your brother up yet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy, Isaac, shook his head as his little feet patted over to the table. He climbed into a chair next to the high chair and grabbed the abandoned spoon in a chubby hand. The baby squealed happily and opened her mouth for the food.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eudora looked back up at him, frowning</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re acting odd, Diego,” she said, voice quiet enough so that Isaac didn’t overhear, “Are you-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Diego!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus’ voice caused him to jump. He turned quickly, hand still frozen underneath the cold, running water, in time to see his brother stepping into the kitchen, rubbing his head. His hair was short again, just like how it was when they went to the 1960s, but he was dressed only in his underwear, and Diego could tell that many of the tattoos that he was used to seeing on him were gone, and there were a few new ones in its place. He wasn’t as skinny as Diego remembered either, and there was a healthy gleam on his face that hadn’t been there the first time around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus,” Eudora chastised, quickly moving forward towards him and stepping between him and Isaac, “How many times do I have to tell you to put on clothes before leaving your room?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Isaac was giggling, and Klaus was staring at the scene open-mouthed. Diego caught his eyes and shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus cleared his throat and plastered on an obviously fake smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My apologies, madame. Forgot where I was for a second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An odd look passed over Eudora’s face. She sighed and turned back to Diego.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Deal with your brother, please. I’ve got to get to work. Oh, and make sure Mateo gets up. He’ll miss the bus again if he doesn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She crossed the kitchen, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then she was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus waited until they heard the sound of the front door closing before turning to him, wide-eyed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did we do this time?”</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>It was times like these when Luther regretted not staying in touch with his siblings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stared down at the phone that he had found sitting beside his bedside table, frowning. It wasn’t familiar, and even though he had been able to quickly guess the password (his birthday), none of his sibling’s numbers were saved in it. In fact, there wasn’t a single familiar name in the contact list, just a conglomeration of strangers. Numerous strangers, in fact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes flicked back up to the mirror in front of him, and he stared, not for the first time, at himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was normal. His body looked just like it did all those years ago, before he had nearly died and his father had turned him into a monster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Normally, he would be overjoyed by finding a way for that to be reversed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, it just terrified him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because it meant that things had changed. A lot of things had changed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If this was different, what else was different? Were his siblings even alive?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An image of Five, bleeding and dying, flashed across his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, eyes flicking back and forth between the phone and his reflection, before his phone suddenly rang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He answered before even reading the contact name.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello? Allison? Diego?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Luther?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The voice on the other end was unfamiliar and confused. Luther’s shoulders hunched in on themselves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry to disappoint. You waiting for a call?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, sort of,” he said, swallowing, unsure of how to respond. Obviously, this person knew him, but he couldn’t reciprocate, “What can I help you with?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know what time it is, big guy?” the man on the other end said, “I’ve been down here on the field for an hour. I went ahead and started practice without you. The kids weren’t very happy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luther swallowed and closed his eyes, trying to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. None of it made sense.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he said, trying to sound as normal as possible, “Uh, might not be able to meet it. I’m having a bit of a… family emergency.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Family?” the man parroted, “I didn’t know you had any family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His heart dropped. Were they dead? He couldn’t find it in himself to come up with a response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh well,” the man continued, “Let me know next time, okay? You got a sub for your class yet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, for Pete’s sake. I’ll cover for you today, but you owe me, big guy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, Mark. I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He paused, blinking. Where had that name come from?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll talk to you later,” Mark said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The phone beeped, and Luther pulled it away just in time to see the contact name on the screen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mark Oswald - Assistant Coach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This doesn’t make any sense,” he whispered to himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>None of this did.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>The house that Vanya appeared in was small and quaint, but by no means run-down. She was in the middle of playing the violin when she arrived, the bow stilling immediately and its last notes ringing in the air. The sheet music in front of her was unfamiliar, and so were the pictures that lined the wall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was like losing her memory all over again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She set her violin down with shaking hands, eyebrows furrowed. This wasn’t the academy. This wasn’t Sissy’s farm. This wasn’t even her old apartment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She found a mirror quickly, terrified that somehow she had been placed in the wrong body, but her face was staring back at her. The same brown eyes, the same brown hair, the same pale skin, the same short stature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her outfit was off. The blue button-down wasn’t too different from what she normally wore, but it was form-fitting, not baggy. She had worn baggy clothes ever since leaving the academy. It helped her hide. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The beanie on her head felt off as well. She couldn’t remember the last time she wore any kind of hat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes moved to the pictures on the wall next. She stared at them, taking them in, trying desperately to make sense of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The first photo that her eyes landed on was of herself as a teenager, which was bizarre. Vanya didn’t have any photos of herself from before she left the academy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In it, she was in the middle of playing her violin in the same living room that she was currently standing in. She was not in her academy uniform, but rather a simple pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt, something that never would have been allowed at that age. She looked to be around fifteen, and she was glancing at the camera, smiling gently as she played.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next photo that her eyes landed on had her standing beside an unfamiliar, older woman with short brown hair and a wide smile. They each had their arms wrapped around each other, and Vanya was holding out a driver’s license, which was odd, because Vanya didn’t have her license now. She looked happy in the photo. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another photo showed her in a graduation gown, holding a high school diploma in one hand, and a bouquet of roses in another. The next photo was just the woman, smiling next to Minnie Mouse at Disney World. Then a photo of her and Vanya sticking up bunny ears behind each other’s head. Another one of Vanya standing on a stage, playing the violin, a crowd watching her. Another one of the woman laughing as she was lifting a mug up to her lips was edited with the word “Mom &lt;3” on the bottom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wall was covered in photos, all of either Vanya or the mysterious woman, or both of them together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All of a life that Vanya couldn’t remember living.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>It was increasingly obvious to Allison that they were not in LA, where she had last seen Claire. In fact, when she piled Claire in her car, eyes wide as the girl discussed her upcoming school day, she was quick to pick up that she was back in her childhood town. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just… on the opposite side of town.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, despite the fact that Allison had no memory of Claire’s school, she drove right to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she returned back to her house (also finding it effortlessly, as if she had lived there for years), she sat down in front of a computer and pulled up Google. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She moved on autopilot, and it wasn’t until she was sitting there, fingers hovering over the keyboard, that she realized how bizarre it was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Computers weren’t something that people just had in their homes. They definitely weren’t this fancy. Google was not something that Allison could even remember hearing about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just another thing that they must have changed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And it was becoming increasingly clear to Allison that she must retain some memories of whatever life she had lived, because she knew exactly how to work this website.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She started with Luther.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She typed in his name in the search bar and stared at the amount of articles that came up. Articles about the Umbrella Academy and their missions popped up, but she quickly noticed that none of the missions mentioned occurred past the age of thirteen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had only started their missions at twelve.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One article, however, caught her attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>“The Umbrella Academy’s Disappearance.”</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was dated back to April, 2003, and she quickly clicked on it, eyes wide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“It has been six months since the Umbrella Academy, who first appeared in October of 2001, was last seen on a mission. The only time they have been seen outside of that was when one of the children, Number Six, was spotted in a window in their home on December 5th. Another child, one who was not part of the Umbrella Academy but looked to be around the same age, was also spotted in a window on February 19th.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Their disappearance has been unexplained, with Sir Reginald Hargreeves declining to comment. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Some have speculated that there simply has not been a mission for the children to go on. Others have wondered if Sir Reginald Hargreeves has decided to wait until the children are older before sending them on deadly missions, a concern that many have had. One theory has suggested that the children were killed on a mission.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison skimmed through the rest of the article, eyebrows furrowed as she read. That didn’t make any sense. Six months prior to April of 2003 was close to when Five had disappeared, but their father had them on missions not even two weeks afterwards. She remembered it well. There had been articles about Five’s sudden disappearance from the team, but none about them all disappearing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She went back to Google, typing in Diego’s name, but just like Luther’s nothing popped up beyond the article about their disappearance. Klaus’ name had the same results.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vanya’s, however…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The name Vanya Hargreeves showed nothing, as she expected, but on a sudden hunch, she added the word ‘violin’ afterward, and suddenly blinked at the picture of her sister that popped up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Vanya Thompson, World-Renowned Violinist. </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was definitely not her last name, but that was definitely her sister in the picture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked happy, smiling at the camera. There was a whole Wikipedia article on her, and Allison barely even registered that Wikipedia was not something she should know about before she clicked on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Vanya Thompson, born October 1st, 1989, is an American Violinist and Entertainer. Her musical career began as a young child, when her first adopted father introduced her to the Violin, and her adopted mother, Willa Thompson, encouraged her talent when she was adopted by her at the age of fourteen. She would go on to perform in her high school’s orchestra, quickly reaching first chair, and later would study music in college and continue performing in orchestras.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>In 2008, Thompson began posting videos of herself playing the violin on YouTube. In 2012, she reached one million subscribers. She went on her first tour in 2013, performing original music, and performed her first sold-out show in 2016. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Thompson has stated that she was adopted at birth by a cruel man that she did not name. She claims that he was abusive, both verbally and physically, to her and the other children in the house. At the age of thirteen, she was given up for adoption, and this is as much as she has stated about her early childhood. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>At fourteen, she was adopted (again) by a woman named Willa Thompson, who she adored. Her mother frequently joined in her YouTube videos, and she had been stated to have been to every single one of her shows before her untimely death in 2015 after a car accident.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison stopped reading, leaning back in her seat and letting out a breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vanya. Famous. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Good for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She licked her lips, hands shaking. It was a lot to take in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She searched herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing beyond Umbrella Academy articles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowned. That wasn’t right. She had made a name for herself that far surpassed the Umbrella Academy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She licked her lips and typed in one of her movies. She pulled up the cast list and scanned her eyes down until-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison Fitzgerald.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sigh left her lips, surprised and relieved all at the same time. She was still an actress. She had still acted in the same movies (although, from this new website, it seemed she had stopped acting completely a few years prior). She was still the same person.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except, she wasn’t.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled up her own Wikipedia article and skimmed it, desperate for information.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>American actress, born October 1st, 1989, adopted by Stephen and Samantha Fitzgerald at age 15, married Patrick Henderson on November 2nd, 2010, gave birth to Claire Hope Henderson-Fitzgerald on January 20th, 2013, gave up acting to raise her daughter, divorced Henderson on April 29th, 2018, split custody agreement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was nowhere near enough information than she wanted, but it did fill in some gaps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She, like Vanya, had been given up by their father. Why, she wasn’t sure, but it seemed to be around the time Five left. She had been adopted, which explained the name change, and was not known as Number Three anymore. She had no way of knowing if her divorce from Patrick was fueled by the same thing, or if she had any contact with her siblings, or why her father had given her up in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she had her daughter. Her daughter was alive, and she had custody of her, and Allison knew that there was no way she would ever use her power against the girl, or anyone she loved, ever again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe these changes were good. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The updates probably won't be this fast all the time, but I had this chapter written already and wanted to get it out there. Next chapter will introduce Five, so it will be a little bit of a timeskip from here, but not too much.</p>
<p>I actually went back to the show and did the math to find the exact day that Five would have left, which would have been December 11th, 2002, using Pogo's statement of how long it has been since he disappeared combined with the date in the show. It was two weeks before Christmas, so that's where I got the date for in the beginning.</p>
<p>Originally, Hargreeves was just going to have gotten a whole different set of kids when they were born (like I think he will in the show), but then I realized that I was creating my own plot hole, because Number Five wouldn't have jumped forward in time, so... I changed it. I like this way better anyway, as it keeps the siblings from being in different countries when they show up.</p>
<p>I spent foreeeeever planning out this part of the story and coming up with how their lives have changed due to leaving the Academy at thirteen. It was a lot of fun, and we will find out more information farther into the story, but let me know what you thought about it so far!</p>
<p>Also, just in case it was confusing, the Butterfly Effect that they set off inadvertently caused technology to be as advanced as it is today, instead of the 60's era tech they had in the show. I took some inspiration from the comics, where they lived in a timeline where JFK didn't die, and that had caused a butterfly effect to cause the technology to not be as advanced, and I just reversed it.</p>
<p>Next chapter will focus on Five appearing in 2019! We'll also be getting our introduction to the Sparrow Academy. I did research onto the characters that we see in the comics, but since there isn't much with them, I have taken some liberties. They aren't main characters, as this story focuses on the seven siblings, but they'll be important to the plot.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Mistakes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Five time travels to 2019.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Make sure you heed the tags for this story. This chapter does include child abuse and mentioned child abandonment.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>December 11th, 2002</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus got in trouble again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five looked up from his book that he was reading, frowning at Ben’s words. His brother was clutching a book in his hand, looking nervous as he stood in the doorway to Five’s bedroom. His eyes flicked down the hall, wary, and he took a step into the room to avoid being seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did he do this time?” Five asked, closing his book and pushing it to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad caught him painting his nails with Allison,” Ben explained, chewing on his bottom lip, “He’s going to give him more training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Neither of them knew what Klaus’ training entailed, but they knew it wasn’t good. Klaus often returned from his special training, which was the only one to take place all throughout the night, shaking and crying for hours. He was inconsolable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What color?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pink.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice,” Five said. He pushed himself off of his bed and glanced at Ben, who was still hovering worriedly, “I’ll handle it, Ben.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben didn’t look satisfied. He frowned and glanced at Five nervously, shaking his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Last time you tried to handle it, you got special training for a week.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like special training,” he countered, arching an eyebrow at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The look on Ben’s face told him that he didn’t believe him, and he was right not to. Five wasn’t an idiot. He knew that the special training was just their father’s code for torture, for punishing them hard enough so that they wouldn’t disobey the next time around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being forced to jump through space over and over again for hours did nothing but leave him exhausted and sick. Being locked in tight places after a grueling four hours of training and forced to muster enough energy to escape or risk a beating was more than just punishment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he would rather come back to his room with a few bruises or spend an hour throwing up in the bathroom from over-exertion than have to listen to Klaus crying in the room next to his. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was annoying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least, that’s what he told himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If their dad was angry with him, he wouldn’t punish Klaus.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll handle it, Ben,” he repeated, “The training makes me stronger. I should be able to start learning to time travel soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If he could just learn to time travel, he could leave. And he could take his siblings with him, to a time when their father would never find them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A bell caught his attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Breakfast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He said nothing more to Ben as the two quickly made their way out of the room and downstairs, meeting up with the others in the hall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Failing to arrive at the meal before their father was treason in their father’s eyes, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hurried to his seat once he arrived, standing directly behind it and staring across the table at Ben. Next to him, Klaus was fidgeting lightly, and Five’s eyes kept traveling over to the other boy. He could see the smudged pink on his fingernails where he had frantically worked to clean the nailpolish off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their father arrived only a moment later, coming to stand behind his seat. Five watched him carefully as he pulled his seat out, regarded them silently, and then said, “Sit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all pulled out their chairs and took their seats, silent. Five took a bite of his food before letting his fork fall to the table, eyes flicking between each of his siblings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben had turned to his book, but his eyes flicked over the edge to catch his. Next to Five, Diego was carving something with his knife. Luther and Allison were having some kind of silent conversation. Vanya had her eyes on Five, eyebrows furrowed, most likely aware that he was about to do something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Klaus… Klaus was rolling a joint under the table. He could tell by the way his head was bowed, by the way Ben’s eyes flicked downwards and frowned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their father’s eyes drifted over to Klaus, and Five knew that it was only a matter of time before the man caught him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tensed up and tried to catch their father’s eye, looking straight at him, silent but determined. He could practically feel Vanya next to him, radiating with nerves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their father glanced at him, but said nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A disturbance at the breakfast table was sure to take the attention off of Klaus.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just as their father’s eyes drifted back towards his brother again, Five took the knife that he was holding and stabbed it into the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All eyes turned towards him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Number Five?” their father spoke, the threat dancing in the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a question,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Knowledge is an admiral goal, but you know the rules. No talking during meal times,” their father said, going back to eating, as if Five’s interruption wasn’t something that would surely be punished for severely later, “You are interrupting Herr Carlson.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego eyed him nervously from beside him, and he could see Ben’s eyes across the table, wide and fearful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He dropped his silverware on the table, letting it clatter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to time travel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a conversation that they had been having quite a bit lately. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m ready,” he argued, anger flaring up in his chest, “I’ve been practicing my spatial jumps, just like you said.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed out of his seat and jumped through space so that he was standing right next to the man, aware of his sibling’s eyes flicking towards him before turning back to their food, unwilling to get involved.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His father was calm. Too calm. Five had hoped that his disruption would be enough to distract the man, to make him angry, to make him completely forget about the others and focus on him, but it seemed like it wasn’t. He was getting used to Five’s attempts to rile him up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t get it,” he argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hence the reason you’re not ready.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five glanced down the table. Vanya was shaking her head at him, and Ben’s eyes were wide. Klaus’ attention was fixed on the table in front of him, and Luther was glaring, as if Five was personally offending him by being disrespectful to their father.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their father still wasn’t taking the bait.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not afraid,” he continued, not letting it go. His hands itched. It wasn’t a lie. He wanted to time travel. He wanted to learn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fear isn’t the issue. The effects it might have on your body, even on your mind, are far too unpredictable,” he stopped cutting his food suddenly, dropping his silverware on the table, “Now I forbid you to talk about this anymore!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bingo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the man returned to cutting his food with a renewed vigor, he knew that he had to make sure his anger stayed on him and didn’t move to anyone else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took off out the door. He could hear his siblings pausing in their eating, hear his father’s shout of “Number Five, you haven’t been excused! Come back here!” He could hear the blood rushing through his ears with exhilaration. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Walking out of a meal like that was the farthest he had ever gone against his father. He would pay for it later, he was sure, but for now, he was going to have some fun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed open the gate and started to make his way down the street, filled with people in jackets, shivering in chilly, December air. A smirk appeared on his lips as he walked. He ran over the equations in his head, took a breath, and pushed forward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Flash.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A woman walked past him in a blue sundress and big, floppy hat, sunglasses adorning her face. He turned his head, noting the people around him, dressed for the summer. A man was selling ice cream nearby, and an array of t-shirts were being sold by an enthusiastic elderly man. The December chill had vanished, replaced with the summer heat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five grinned and pushed forward again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Winter. Harsh winter. It was snowing, as if the start of a blizzard, and the people that passed by him had large coats and scarves wrapped tightly around them. The store to his right was suddenly sporting a large “For Lease” sign. The cold slammed into him. He laughed excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed forward once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Springtime, he was sure. The air was nice out, and there were flowers being sold in vendors next to the streets. The people around him sported a mixture of shorts and long-sleeved shirts, as if no one had reached a consensus as to whether it was chilly or warm, and the store next to him was sporting technology that looked like nothing he had ever seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stopped, pausing as he stared in through the windows. Those were televisions, but they were huge and wide, and the picture that they displayed was crisp and so lifelike. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” he whispered to himself. How far had he gone? He hadn’t thought he had gone farther than a year or two, but…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jogged forward to a stand holding newspapers and grabbed one, looking down at the date.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>April 2nd, 2019.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“2019,” he said, a sudden laugh leaving his lips. That definitely wasn’t a year or two. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He clutched the newspaper in his hand as proof. Oh, he couldn’t wait to shove this in their dad’s face, prove to him that he could do it. If he could already travel this far in time, it would only be a matter of time before they could leave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wondered how long it would take to convince Luther to come with them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned and tried to jump, to head back to 2002 with the newspaper as bragging rights. HIs hands glowed blue, and he took a step forward, ready to step back into his own time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His feet landed in the same spot, and he paused, frowning. His heart began to beat faster, and he licked his lips before pushing forward again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was getting a few looks, strangers who were noticing the way his hands were glowing. A few hurried down the street to get away, others took a few steps forward to get a better look. Whispers replaced the previous laughter and voices that he had heard as the attention focused on the boy who had just appeared out of nowhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, kid. You okay?” a man’s voice asked, but Five paid it no attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried again, but his powers fizzled out around him, similar to how it would be if he had jumped for hours on end and was exhausted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That… that wasn’t good.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kid?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone touched his arm and he flinched back, unconsciously attempting to jump out of the way. Instead, he stumbled over his feet, crashing onto the pavement below him. He could hear his heart in his ears, and his entire body was trembling, but he wasn’t sure if it was from overexertion or fear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was stuck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>stuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The whispers grew into loud shouts, dozens of people asking if he was okay, where his parents were, why he had just appeared, what he was trying to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed himself back onto his feet and stumbled forward, pushing past the crowd that was forming around him. His stomach twisted with nausea, but he paid it no mind, too focused on getting away from the crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, this was not good. He was in 2019 and he had definitely overexerted himself. He should have just left it with the first jump, grabbed something, and went back. He knew better. He knew that he couldn’t jump when he was too tired, so why did he push himself so much all at once? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stupid. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ran into an alley once he had gotten away from the crowd and leaned against the brick wall, panting for air. HIs stomach rolled and he closed his eyes, his entire body shaking. He could feel sweat dripping down from his forehead. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this exhausted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was worse than any of his special training. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Five,” he whispered to himself, “No matter. You’re just tired. That’s all it is. You just need rest, and then you can go back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded to himself and forced his eyes open. He needed to get to the academy. If he could get to his bedroom and take a few hours to sleep, he would be good to go. And if he ran into his future self, well, he was sure to help him. Surely his dad would understand that he needed to get back, too. He wouldn’t punish him. He’d let the 2002 version of himself do that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He licked his lips as he pushed himself off of the wall and began to walk in the direction of the Academy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sixteen years would have calmed his anger over Five’s walk out… right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He swallowed and stumbled a little, but then he forced himself to straighten up. His vision blurred, but he refused to look weak, focusing intently on getting to the academy, ignoring everyone around him.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It seemed to take forever to get to the Academy, only a few blocks away, but he made it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stumbled through the gate without a care and reached for the handle, but it was locked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Great. Just great.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If he wasn’t feeling like he could pass out in the blink of an eye, he would just jump through space to get in, but that obviously wasn’t going to work. So, instead, he settled for knocking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound seemed to echo, and Five blinked. He couldn’t remember a time when someone had ever knocked on the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Footsteps moved closer to the door, and Five leaned against the wall, catching his breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door swung open, and Five blinked at the sight of his mom, looking just like she did 16 years prior. She smiled at him, but there was a moment where she didn’t say anything, almost as if she was caught off guard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was ridiculous, though. Five had known that she was a robot ever since she had first shown up when they were four, unlike Diego, who still remained in denial. She didn’t have emotions. She just reacted to how she was programmed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five,” she said finally, swinging the door open wider and gesturing for him to enter, “Silly child. You missed your curfew.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked lightly and took a few steps inside, straightening his back so that it wasn’t obvious that he felt seconds away from collapsing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he said, “I got caught up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes flicked around the Academy, curiosity overriding his desire for sleep momentarily. Sixteen years had passed, after all. He wondered what had changed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not much, it seemed. Then again, their father had never been one for change.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I time traveled,” he said, “but I must have overexerted myself because I can’t seem to get back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your father always said time travel was a finicky subject,” she said with a warm smile, reaching over and placing an arm around his shoulder. He ducked, quickly pulling away with a grimace, before his mother spoke again, “Levina!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five turned as he spotted a woman on the stairs, eyes widening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom,” the woman said, “Who is this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five stared at her, frowning. She was tall with a blonde ponytail and distrustful eyes. She wore the same uniform that Five had worn all his life, but with a skirt instead of shorts, and when he looked closer, he noticed the emblem was different. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is Number Five,” his mother said, “Can you go tell your father that he has returned?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Number Five? </span>
  <em>
    <span>The </span>
  </em>
  <span>Number Five?” The woman, Levina, stared at him, mouth dropping open in surprise. She hovered on the stairs, as if she hadn’t heard the request.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five’s eyebrows furrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom, who is this?” he asked, forcing his voice not to shake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something was wrong. Why was she at the academy? Why did she seem so surprised to see him? Who was she?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is your sister, Five,” his mother said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five turned to her sharply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have two sisters,” he said, “And that is not Vanya or Allison.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, silly. That is Levina,” his mother said, but she offered no more explanation, “Levina, please go tell your father that Number Five has returned.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded sharply, as if it had finally gotten through to her, and quickly disappeared up the stairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He swallowed and straightened his vest, looking back over at his mother. He frowned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t used to strangers at the Academy. The only ones that he had ever seen around the mansion were his siblings, his father, his mother, and Pogo. That was it. That was the only people they were allowed to see outside of missions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This “Levina” woman was definitely not any of those people.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sudden sharp pain erupted in his palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jumped, letting out a hiss as he brought his hand protectively to his chest. Blood was suddenly seeping down his wrist, and he opened it up, startled to see a slice along his palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, poor thing,” his mother fussed over him, quickly grabbing his wrist in her hand and tutting softly. She turned her head, “Huxley, please refrain from harming Number Five. He is not an enemy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A manic laugh bubbled out from behind the wall, and Five’s head snapped towards it, eyes wide and confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A man peaked out from around the corner, a crazed grin on his face. Scars littered his skin, covering every inch of it with burns and cuts, and he held up his hands in mock innocence. One hand held a knife. The other was bleeding from his palm, in the exact spot that Five was suddenly injured. He was missing two fingers on his injured hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does dad want us to kill him?” he asked, and his voice was high-pitched and crazed, “I want to kill him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five took an unconscious step backward. He yanked his hand out of his mother’s grip and held it down at his side, standing up straight. He tried to summon some energy to jump away if he needed to, because whoever this was in his house was obviously dangerous, and he was in no condition to go on the offensive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you idiot,” a feminine voice said, and a short woman with curly brown hair and a smattering of freckles across her face peaked around him, frowning at Five, “It’s just a kid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m thirteen,” he found himself protesting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman snorted. She pushed passed the man, Huxley, and made her way over to him. He withheld the urge to back away, instead standing his ground and meeting her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stood in front of each other for a moment, neither willing to break eye contact, before the woman smirked and held out her hand suddenly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Amira,” she said, “Don’t mind Huxley. He lost his mind ages ago. He won’t kill you unless dad tells him to, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five considered her hand for a moment before taking it with his uninjured one, shaking it. This girl, at least, seemed sane.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyebrows shot up at that. She dropped her hand and let out a low whistle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Number Five. I thought you looked familiar. There was a portrait up of you for a while. Said you ran off during dinner and never came back. Presumed dead. Pretty sure dad wasn’t us to remember not to disobey him. Took it down a few years back, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ice cold water rushed through his veins. His eyes widened at her words and he shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m… I’m going back. I just… overexerted myself time traveling.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pretty sure if you ever got back, we wouldn’t be here,” she countered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Number Five!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jumped and twisted around immediately to face his father. He swallowed, squeezing his hands into fists and ignoring the way his left palm still stung and dripped with blood. His head snapped up to make eye contact, and he steeled his expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reginald Hargreeves did not look happy. His expression was, as always, guarded and calm, but Five had lived with him his entire life. He could see the fury behind his eyes, in the way his knuckles tightened around his cane. Sixteen years did not seem to have aged or changed him in the slightest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you aware that it has been sixteen years since you disappeared?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I figured that from the newspaper’s date.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised his hand to show the newspaper that he had grabbed, but then he blinked when he found his hand empty. He must have dropped it sometime between grabbing it and arriving at the academy. He should have noticed that. He must be more tired than he thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what do you have to say for yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five could tell that he was trying to intimidate him, to make him apologize or crumble under his gaze. He found himself glaring slightly, remembering the smudged nail polish on Klaus’ hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you I could do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Five was not running on fumes, he would have been able to stand his ground when his father slapped him. As it was, he was teetering on consciousness, and the moment the hand made contact with his cheek, he lost his balance and stumbled to the side, hitting the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>High-pitched laughter rang in his ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His vision blurred and his arms shook, but he pushed himself off the floor, smearing blood on the wood as he stood up. Nausea threatened to overcome him, but he squashed it down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Insolent child,” his father hissed, “Your half-witted decision to defy my orders has left you stranded sixteen years out of your time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not stuck,” he argued, the world seeming to turn on his head. He licked his lips and focused on keeping eye contact, “I just need to rest, and then I can go back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you had heeded my warnings, you would recall that backwards through time is much more problematic than traveling forwards in time. If you were to travel back, your knowledge of the future would alter the timeline significantly,” he said, “If you had been patient, I would have instructed you to learn to use your power wisely, moving forwards or back by a few seconds or minutes to gain control in a situation or resolve oversights that occur on missions. Instead, you have propelled yourself forward by sixteen years, and your subsequent return, if you were even capable of doing so, would have disastrous ramifications.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five blinked up at him. Dread pooled in his stomach, and the entire world seemed to sway. He swallowed hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will not be returning back to 2002,” he said, “Even if not for the disruption to the timeline, your ego far surpasses your abilities. Your ignorance is outstanding, Number Five. Going forward in time at random is simple compared to the trivialities of returning to a specific time. Now, Amira,” he snapped his fingers at the woman who stood off to the side, watching the scene with a guarded expression, “Take this child to the guest room and then report to training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five tried to protest, but words wouldn’t leave his mouth. The entire world was spinning, and his mind latched onto one thing as he felt Amira grab his arm and begin leading him to the stairs in a surprisingly gentle grip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He messed up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Badly.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Five didn’t remember being led upstairs. His entire mind had gone blank from exhaustion and being overwhelmed with information. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t understand. None of it made any sense. So his brain just… shut down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, he was standing in front of a familiar door, Amira’s hand on his shoulder as she knocked on it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want?” an annoyed voice called through the door. It sounded familiar, but off, and Five’s eyebrows furrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s Amira. I’ve got a surprise for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a huff from the other end, and then the door was yanked open. Five blinked at the man on the other end, glaring at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then his expression shifted into one of shock, brown eyes widening and skin paling, as if he had just seen a ghost.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ben?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five had never been one to seek out physical touch, but he found himself stumbling forward, uninjured hand grasping his brother’s sleeve. He felt Ben’s hands grip his shoulders, steadying him, and he huffed out a breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben had always been a bit shorter than Five, but now he seemed to be over a head taller than him. Training had left him with muscles that none of them were even able to form at thirteen, and Five felt impossibly small next to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? How?” Ben stuttered out, and Five looked up at him, dizzy and shaky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I time traveled,” he forced out, his lips feeling numb as he spoke, “I-I didn’t mean to go this far, and now I don’t know if I can go back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His voice shook, and he cursed himself for the display of fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben sucked in a breath, and then his arms were wrapping around Five, squeezing him tightly. Five froze, eyes wide against Ben’s chest, unsure of how he was supposed to respond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you were dead,” Ben whispered, and Five felt his hand against the back of his head, securing him, “I thought you were gone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five couldn’t respond, too stunned to speak. Hugging was not a thing that went on in the mansion. Diego hugged their mother sometimes, but that was the only time Five had ever witnessed it. He certainly never sought out such trivial things.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But… it was nice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben pulled away. He frowned lightly and then grabbed Five’s wrist, holding up his hand. It was still covered in blood from… whatever that man had done to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huxley?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He got a little excited about a stranger being in the house,” Amira spoke from behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five swallowed. His mouth felt dry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“U-uh, who is he?” he finally said, “Why… why are there other people here? Where is everyone else?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A dark look passed over his face, and then Five found himself pulled over to Ben’s bed. He sat down, which was good, because his legs felt like they were about to give out if he was standing any longer, and then Ben was ruffling through something on his desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, I’m going to leave,” Amira said, pointing to the door, “Got to get to training. Good luck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was gone before either of them could say anything, the door closing behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ben,” he said again, “What happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben let out a sigh as he grabbed some medical supplies and sat down next to Five on the bed. He grabbed Five’s hand and began to clean the cut on his palm. Five withheld the wince that threatened to leave him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Ben answered, and Five could tell that he was being honest, “Two weeks after you left, on Christmas, I woke up, and the others were gone. No one would tell me anything, no matter how many times I asked. Then Dad started bringing home other kids to… replace them. He changed the name to the Sparrow Academy, and I was forbidden to ever bring up the others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five blinked and shook his head, his mind racing with everything that had happened in such a short amount of time for him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would he do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I knew that, I would have done something about it,” Ben said harshly, before his expression softened, “Look, I know this is a lot. It’s… not good here. The others… they’re lucky. They got out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A bandage was being wrapped around his hand, and his vision blurred again. He closed his eyes, nausea rising in him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had to fix this. Somehow… he had to fix it. He didn’t know how, but he would. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a brief moment where no one spoke. Ben finished with bandage on Five’s palm, and then he rested his hand on his shoulder, gentle and grounding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This isn’t your fault,” he said, “You’re… you’re just a kid. We all were.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five shook his head, but everything spun at the action, and he squeezed his eyes shut once again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...Five?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tired,” he rasped out, “Uh, time travel took a lot out of me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sigh left Ben’s lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course it did. Only you would time travel 16 years into the future on your first try,” he said, and Five could tell that there was an attempt at humor there, but it didn’t land, “Get some rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five forced his eyes open as Ben gently pushed him onto his back so that he was laying down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is your room,” he protested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nine in the morning. I’m not about to use it,” Ben said, “Just sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At any other time, Five would flat out refuse to take a nap in his brother’s bed, but moving felt impossible, and by the time his head hit the pillow, he was out.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!</p>
<p>A quick note about the Sparrow Academy. In the comics, there is a character known as Number One, who seems to have very similar powers to Luther. Since Ben isn't a character of the Sparrow Academy in the comics, I replaced that character with him. The other Sparrow Academy members will be shown similar to how they are portrayed in the comics (though we do not have much information from them). In the comics, the character that I am basing Huxley off of is a lot more disfigured than I am portraying him, but I was struggling to write that. Amira, also, is the character who shot a beam out of her face in the comics, but I did change her appearance from the comics (think Alia Shawkat for her appearance). Levina is the character that we never saw powers for. The others will pop up, too, but I couldn't fit them in this chapter. </p>
<p>None of the Sparrows are playing major characters. The story will still be focusing on the seven original siblings. We'll see more of the other siblings next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Consequences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The siblings try and find each other, and Five deals with the consequences of disobeying his father.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>August 19th, 2009</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, mom. Patch is coming with tonight for dinner. Yes, I know you love her. I’ll let her know. Hold on just a minute.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego pulled his phone from his ear to talk to the woman at the other end of the counter. He handed over the exact change, already knowing how much it was going to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Morning, Agnes. The usual, please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, honey,” Agnes said with a smile, putting the money into the cash register, “Tell your mother I said hello. I haven’t seen her around in a while, and I have a lemon cream filled donut with her name on it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego sent her a polite smile and nodded, bringing his phone back up to his ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was that Agnes?” his mother asked, “Diego, honey, are you getting donuts for breakfast again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you judging me, mother? I wonder who gave me this habit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smirked, tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder as Agnes handed over his medium coffee and chocolate frosted donut. He made his way over to his usual booth and took his seat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I seem to remember you being the one to insist on it,” his mother responded with a light laugh, “If anything, you’re the one who gave </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>that habit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego let out a laugh and took a sip of his coffee.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re blaming a thirteen-year-old for your donut addiction?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All I’m saying is that before you, I was a boring, healthy adult who ate plain oatmeal for breakfast.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t even there, and I know that’s not true.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm, I hate to break it to you, but it was.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, mom,” Diego said, “Listen, I’m going to let you go. I’ll see you later, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, baby. See you tonight. Love you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Love you too, mom.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He set his phone down on the table and picked up his donut, just about to take a bite, before he paused. A loud voice caught his attention, sending his eyes flicking over to the front counter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A young man had entered the doughnut shop while he was on the phone. He looked like a walking thrift store, a long black skirt, too-tight see-through shirt, and an oversized fur coat, despite it being summer. His brown hair stuck up every which way, and his hands shook slightly as he gestured with them, a cigarette caught between two fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, this place just brings back memories,” he was saying, his voice high and airy, laughter peeling through his words, “I used to come here when I was just a wee lad, back before dear old dad gave us the boot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He threw his hand back at the end of his sentence, and his coat sleeve pulled up just enough. Diego’s donut slipped from his hands at the sight of the umbrella tattoo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus?”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <b>April 2nd, 2019</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Griddy’s Doughnuts was mostly empty except for Diego and Klaus. They sat near the back, in a booth where they could see the door easily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus was already eating his third donut.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is where we found each other,” Diego said suddenly. He was flicking his knife back and forth, a frown etched onto his lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” he asked through a mouthful of donut.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was eating a donut, right over there,” Diego pointed to a booth on the other side of the shop with his knife, “And you walked in, and you were definitely high. I think we were in our late teens or early twenties.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus let out a hum as he swallowed his food. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So daddy dearest didn’t keep us together after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess not,” Diego said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus frowned. He let out a huff and threw his hands in the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How come </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>get to remember things?” he complained, before tapping his temple, “It’s all empty in here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve always known that,” Diego retorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus gave a mock gasp, bringing his hand up to his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wound me, brother.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, shut up,” Diego rolled his eyes and leaned back in the booth. His eyes flicked to the door again, then back to Klaus. He let out a sigh before pushing himself to his feet, “I’ve got to get to work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t want to hold up your clients, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dr. Diaz,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Klaus smirked, “You’ll have a lot of crying babies on your hands.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The knife left Diego’s hand and embedded itself into Klaus’ coffee, sending the warm liquid spilling out all over the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Klaus protested, “You can’t choose a career like Child Psychologist and not expect me to say something about it. I mean, what do you do? Scare the kiddos until they’re cured?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s never worked for you,” Diego grimaced. He pulled the knife out of the cup, creating an even bigger mess, “Have fun with this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He smirked as he walked away, hearing Klaus’ protest of “Diego!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you at Super Star Lanes later,” he called, before exiting the shop.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Vanya had never owned a car. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She got her license when she was nineteen in the original timeline, on her own and trying to figure out how she wanted to live her life, but she preferred public transportation. She had gotten in an accident after the first month of driving, accidentally rear-ending someone in the rain, and even though the accident had only damaged her own car and left no injuries, she had been consumed with guilt and swore off driving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In 1963, she had driven Carl and Sissy’s car a few times. Without her memories, that little accident didn’t exist to scare her from the driver’s seat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the new timeline, however, she owned a convertible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt weird to drive it. She had her memories back now, but the fear wasn’t there when she got in the car, instead replaced by a comfortable sereness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The little letter that she found in the glovebox that read “To, my little prodigy. From, Mom” made her feel warm, even though she still had no memories of the woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a nice reminder that this Vanya had grown up with someone that loved her. Especially as she found herself driving down a very familiar street.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why am I doing this?” she whispered to herself. Her eyes slipped down the street as she drove until they found the familiar mansion. Anger burned underneath her skin at the sight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it was there, fully intact. No evidence that Vanya had ever destroyed it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her childhood home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She parked her car on the side of the street and climbed out, turning to face the Academy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t want to be here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it was the only place she could think of where her siblings could be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So why couldn’t she get her feet to move?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes flicked over to the academy, trailing over the many windows and falling on her old bedroom window. She could remember many nights spent at that window, staring out of it and watching the people walking down the street. She had always yearned to leave, to find a family that would treat her like she was special.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She got it, it seemed. If she could just remember it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The curtains on the window ruffled. Vanya paused, taking a small step forward to get a better look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An unfamiliar woman peeked out of the curtains and frowned at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, as if she had stolen Five’s ability to teleport, she was standing directly in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vanya backed up in surprise. All noise on the street had disappeared, an eerie silence replacing it, and the cars that were driving up and down the road vanished into the thin air. The sun seemed to dim, and fog appeared out of nowhere, filling the area around her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who are you?” the woman asked. Her thick brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was suddenly wearing an orange uniform that was not what she had previously been wearing. Similar to the Umbrella Academy’s domino mask, an orange mask covered her eyes, and there was a picture of a sparrow on the right side of her chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vanya,” she answered, blinking in surprise. Her fingers glowed lightly, ready to fight if she had to, “Who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment where the woman didn’t answer. She just tilted her head at her, as if it was a dumb question, but she didn’t look annoyed. If anything, the question brought a grin to her lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Carla,” she said, “What are you doing here, Vanya? Loitering outside the mansion is a sure plan to get yourself killed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I used to live here,” Vanya answered, frowning at Carla’s words, “When I was a kid. It was my home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carla blinked in surprise. She let out a sudden laugh, and then there was an umbrella in her hands suddenly. She twirled it above her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Part of the Umbrella Academy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really. I was always told that I didn’t have any powers,” Vanya said. Her fingers glowed a bit brighter, and she felt her eyes turn white briefly, “He lied.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was that fear that flickered through the girl’s eyes?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Umbrella Academy don’t live here anymore,” Carla said, pointedly ignoring Vanya’s accusation, “The Sparrow Academy lives here now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The umbrella disappeared, replaced with a sparrow that sat on Carla’s shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Sparrow Academy?” Vanya asked. She took a step forward, a frown on her lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sparrow on Carla’s shoulder made a sudden chattering noise. It flew towards her, and Vanya jumped back in surprise, but it went straight through her without causing any harm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad won’t be happy to see another one of the Umbrella Academy around,” Carla said, “You should leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, another one?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stepped forward again, desperate to find out which one of her siblings had been there already, but before she could say another word, something slammed into her side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She cried out as her body flew forward, slamming hard into the pavement. Her skin scraped along the road, and something snapped in her leg. She gasped as she came to a stop, laying in the middle of the street. Pain blossomed throughout her leg and the road rash along her arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fog cleared just enough for her to see a car stopping. An elderly man climbed out, looking horrified.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should leave, Vanya,” Carla said, standing right above Vanya and looked completely unphased by what just happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vanya blinked and clutched her broken leg, panting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just got hit by a car!” she exclaimed. She spat blood out on the road from where she bit her tongue, “My leg is broken!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t believe you,” Carla said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At her words, the pain that radiated through her body trickled away until it was like nothing had even happened. Her eyes widened as she experimentally pushed herself up onto her feet, finding her leg completely healed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-what? How did you do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should leave, Vanya,” she repeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just like that, she disappeared. Sound rushed back to Vanya, and she could hear the elderly man frantically asking if she was okay, if he needed to call an ambulance. A few other cars had stopped at the sight, and someone honked at the hold up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes turned back to that window, and she saw Carla standing there, watching her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ma’am? Ma’am, are you okay?” the man asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gave a shaky nod and backed up to her car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine, sir,” she said, “Sorry… Uh, sorry for stepping out in front of you. I didn’t see you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t wait for the man to respond, instead opting for climbing into her car and pulling away from the mansion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What just happened?</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Super Star Lanes was packed when Allison arrived, ushering Claire through the crowd of people and to the lane that she had booked, listening to her daughter babble about her day at school. Her ears were trained to hear Claire's high-pitched tones over the roar of people around them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-and then Mrs. Smith let us color! I drew a picture of a rainbow, and I gave it to Mrs. Smith, and she hung it up by her desk!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s great, sweetie,” Allison said with a smile, watching as Claire hopped up in the seat with her bowling shoes and began to change out of her sandals, “Did you behave at recess?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm hmm. Mrs. Smith said she was very proud of me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison grinned at her as she changed her own shoes, slipping the tacky bowling shoes on. Her fingers hesitated as she tied the laces, remembering how the Commission had attacked them, remembering the bullets that flew over her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had been wary to bring Claire, but the Commission was gone (or, at least, they weren’t going to bother them anymore), and this was where they had all met up together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hoped that she wasn’t the only one to have this idea. This was the third time since they had gotten back that she had taken Claire bowling, and the child was getting bored of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes flicked around the bowling alley briefly, searching for any familiar faces, but she found none.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want the bumpers,” Claire announced as she hopped to her feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No bumpers? Are you sure about that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm hmm. I can do it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, then,” Allison said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After one more quick glance around the alley for her siblings, Allison watched as Claire lugged her bowling ball over to the lane. She used both hands to roll the ball, but it rolled into the gutter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claire stood there for a moment, staring after the ball, before she turned back to Allison with a serious look on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want the bumpers back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An hour passed. Allison and Claire took turns bowling, and once Claire had the bumpers up, she won by a large margin (mostly because Allison pointedly hit the sides of the bumpers every time). By the time their time was up, Claire was munching on some fries and bouncing in excitement over her win.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison was in the middle of fixing changing her shoes back when Claire suddenly let out a squeal and started pointing across the alley.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s my friend from school!” she exclaimed, “Can I go say hi?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison followed where she was pointing, seeing a boy around Claire’s age with curly brown hair and big brown eyes. He was running ahead of his family towards an open lane, and someone called for him to slow down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes flicked back to the man jogging after him, and her eyes widened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claire took off towards her friend, and Allison came after her, eyes glued onto her brother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mateo!” Claire called, waving her hands excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus!” Allison shouted over the cluster of people.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both her brother and the boy that he was with turned towards them. She saw his hazel eyes widened, and a wide grin spread over his face. He waved his hand over the crowd, the familiar “Hello” etched along it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ally!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The moment they were next to each other, Allison threw her arms around him, a relieved laugh escaping her mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys!” she exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Us too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The voice wasn’t from Klaus, and Allison pulled away at the sound, eyes widening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego stood behind them, a smirk on his lips. He had a giggling toddler on his shoulders, and a baby carrier on his chest held a little girl with a pink bow in the wisps of her hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It definitely hampered the vigilante look that he had spent so many years cultivating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, look at you, Dee,” Allison said, a grin on her lips, “Dad looks good on you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego shot her an unimpressed look, but there was a sparkle in his eyes that gave him away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mommy?” Claire tugged on her hand, looking up at her with a frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hit Allison suddenly that Claire had never met her siblings in either timeline. Previously, Claire had lived in LA, and even though she always wanted to introduce Claire to them, she never did. In this timeline, she wasn’t sure she had ever had contact with her siblings after they were thirteen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Claire, these are your uncles,” Allison said with a smile, placing a hand on her back and nudging her closer to them, “Your Uncle Diego, and your Uncle Klaus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Uncle Justin and Uncle Jeremy?” Claire asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right. When Allison had been adopted, she had gained two other older brothers. She forgot about that. Mainly because she had yet to actually meet them. She only knew of them because of that wikipedia article, and a few times where Claire had mentioned them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remember how your grandma and grandpa adopted me when I was a teenager?” she asked Claire, who nodded, “These were my brothers before that, with my other father.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A serious look passed over Claire’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The mean one?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, the mean one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I promise that we are a lot nicer than the old fart,” Klaus said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Claire let out a sudden grin. She turned towards the boy, who Allison remembered her calling Mateo, and whispered excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re cousins!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What have you guys been up to?” Allison asked, watching out of the corner of her eyes as the two kids started to babble excitedly to each other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego lifted the toddler off of his shoulders and handed him over to Klaus. The boy giggled as Klaus bounced him in his arms, but then he started kicking his legs, wanting down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I’m a child psychiatrist, apparently. Married with kids,” Diego said, and it was so un-Diego that Allison withheld the laugh that threatened to leave her lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, and I actually have a job, too,” Klaus said with a proud grin, “Officially, you’re looking at the manager of the local supermarket. Unofficially, you’re looking at the best private psychic detective in the north-east.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Psychic detective?” Allison arched an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus gave a dramatic bow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At your service.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego rolled his eyes and grabbed Klaus’ shoulder, wrenching him back into a standing position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you seen Luther or Vanya, Allison?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison’s grin fell at the mention of her other siblings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, have you,” she asked nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re the first one we’ve found.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Allison bit back the curse that threatened to leave her lips, glancing at the children nearby. She gave a tight smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s okay. We’ll find them. For now, you mind if Claire and I join your lane?”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Normally, when Five overworked himself, he would need to sleep for at least eight hours and his mom usually would bring him something extra to eat since he was usually left with low blood sugar. After his bout of time travelling, he was pretty sure that he needed a lot more than that. Time travel was a lot more strenuous than manipulating space.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, he was woken up only a few hours later by his mother, gently shaking his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your father wants to see you, sweetie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t he wait until tomorrow?” he groaned, rolling over on the bed and covering his face with Ben’s pillow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His entire body ached like he had just run a marathon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m afraid not,” Grace said. She pulled the pillow away from his face, “It is not good to keep your father waiting. Come along now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let out a sigh but pushed himself to his feet. When his legs threatened to collapse underneath him, he grabbed onto her arm, breathing slowly through his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Careful,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He huffed and shot her an annoyed look, pulling his hand off of her as if it burned him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She seemed unaffected by his expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you need any help getting to his office?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m fine,” he said shortly, feeling light-headed and nauseous, “I can make it myself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed past her and started making his way forward. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The halls were empty. He wasn’t sure where the others were (the so-called “Sparrow Academy”), but he was relieved that he didn’t have to run into them. He could deal with running into Amira, he supposed, but if it was Huxley, he wasn’t sure what he would do. And if the others were as bad as that guy…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He arrived at his father’s office door without problem and knocked swiftly on it, forcing his back to straighten.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed the door open and steeled his expression. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His father was sitting at his desk, head turned down as he scribbled in that stupid journal that Five had seen him write in ever since he could remember. He did not look up as Five entered, coming to stand directly in front of the desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your reappearance has been unexpected, Number Five,” he spoke, and Five bit back a retort, “This error in judgement will not be taken lightly, so I have spent the last few hours pondering your punishment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to send me away,” Five asked, narrowing his eyes at the man, “Like the others?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reginald looked up suddenly, his gaze sharp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are not to speak unless I ask you a question. Do you understand?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five bit his lip to keep from talking and nodded. He was already in a lot of trouble. He didn’t need to make it worse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I will not be sending you away, but you will also not be joining the Sparrow Academy until you prove yourself. You will not join them for meals, and if you join them for training, you will obey my sole directions. Your recreational time has been revoked, and your personal training has been put on hold. Pogo has prepared your new room, and you will remain in there unless I retrieve you. Grace will bring you your meals, and Pogo will escort you to the restroom twice a day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five swallowed lightly and gave a nod to show that he understood. He had dealt with worse punishments before. He was just… grounded. He’d had similar restrictions put in place in the past. Once, he had been restrained to his room for a whole week for refusing to go to training.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t fun, but he could deal with it. Besides, he could always jump out if he had to. He just had to make sure he was back in his room before anyone found out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For how long?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said no talking,” Reginald barked, and Five jumped in surprise, before flushing with embarrassment. His father had always been strict and harsh, but this was a level that he was not used to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He watched warily as the man stood up from his desk and approached him. He held his ground, despite wanting to back away from the imposing figure, and looked him in the eye, refusing to show how unnerved he was by the whole situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would like an apology for your behavior, Number Five.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, we all want things,” came out before he could stop himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was expecting the slap that came, so he was able to keep himself upright. His cheek stung and his eyes watered, but he refused to back down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had forgotten of your insubordination,” Reginald said. He grabbed Five’s chin, squeezing his cheeks as he forced him to look down instead of into his eyes, “Your delinquency will not go unpunished. Pogo!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five didn’t see him come in, but he heard his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Master Reginald?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please escort Number Five to his new room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Master Reginald.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hand left his face, and Five almost turned his head back up defiantly, but he stopped at the last minute. Hatred burned in his chest at the man, but self-preservation held it at bay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pogo’s hand touched Five’s arms, and he allowed himself to be guided out of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am pleased to see that you have made it home unscathed, Master Five,” Pogo said, and Five glanced at him with a clenched jaw, “I worried for your safety.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure you did,” he spat out, “Where are my brothers and sisters?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Number Six is currently in training,” Pogo said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not him,” Five hissed. He wrenched his arm out of his grip and spun around to face him, “The others. Vanya, Klaus, Diego, Allison and Luther. Where are they?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pogo’s expression changed. He could see the surprise that flickered through his eyes, combined with sorrow and regret.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m afraid I cannot say.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are they dead?” Five demanded, “Did he kill them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m afraid I cannot say,” Pogo repeated. He grasped Five’s arm again, grip tight enough that Five could not pull away, “Please, behave yourself. Your father is under enough stress as it is. I believe that you have been given the order to not speak unless answering a question. I’m afraid that the order does not just extend to your father, and I will have to report back to him with your behavior.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five let out a huff and glared at the floor as he allowed Pogo to guide him towards the elevator. He didn’t even speak up to ask about why they were taking the elevator, which was usually off limits. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was fine. He didn’t plan on staying much longer at the Academy anyway. He had always kept himself from leaving since he couldn’t take his siblings with him, but he had no such qualms now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben was still here, but he had to find the others. He had to make sure they were okay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The elevator came to a stop and Five stepped out before freezing in his steps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had definitely never been on this floor before. The walls were circular, made entirely of concrete, and reminded him heavily of a sewer. It was a single hall, long and dim, lit up by a single light that illuminated large, double doors at the of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He forgot his order of silence immediately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is this place?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pogo did not answer immediately. Instead, he tugged Five forward, guiding him towards the door. He could hear the elevator moving back up behind him, taking away the only way for him to escape until he was more properly rested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His heartbeat sped up unconsciously, and Five narrowed his eyes at the doors. Curiosity kept him from refusing to move, instead keeping his pace with Pogo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This place was not built for you, but rather for one of your siblings,” Pogo explained unhelpfully, “Your father has requested that this will be where you will stay until further notice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In the basement?” Five asked incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pogo did not respond. Instead, he swung the doors open, and Five found himself staring at what looked to be a large, reinforced vault. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who was this for?” he asked, feeling fury rising inside of him, “Luther?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the only one that he could think of. If Reginald was trying to restrain Luther, reinforced metal like this would make sense. The others didn’t need such extremes to be restrained. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yet again, however, he didn’t get a response. Instead, Pogo approached the door to the vault and opened it, revealing a single cot inside. There was no other furniture, and a single light hung from the ceiling, dimly lighting it up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Five said, shaking his head, “This is my new room?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Until further notice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He clenched his jaw and sent a glare at Pogo, and he had to remind himself that this was only temporary. Once he was rested enough and had enough to eat to be able to use his spatial jumps, he would leave. It wasn’t like a lock, no matter how strong, could keep him from getting out, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead of mentioning this lest Pogo find some way to restrain him, he took a step inside of the vault.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door shut behind him without another word. He turned, looking out at Pogo through the dirty window on the door, and flicked him off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would get out. He just needed to have patience. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had to find his family. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you guys enjoyed! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!<br/>I took some liberties with Carla's powers, because the comics were confusing, so I took some inspiration and embellished on them. <br/>I struggled with this chapter for some reason, especially with Allison's reunion with Diego and Klaus, so I apologize if it sounds weird! Next chapter will probably focus more on Five.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Training</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Five realizes Reginald's plans to keep him contained, Vanya and Luther reunite, and Ben overhears a conversation by two of the Sparrow Academy members.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: This chapter contains violence against a minor.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Five wasn’t sure how long he slept on the lumpy cot that definitely did not feel like it was meant for a thirteen-year-old, but despite the uncomfortable surface that he slept on, he felt much more rested when he was again woken up. Although, that didn’t take much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was not Pogo this time, or his mom. It was Reginald.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get up, Number Five,” he barked, and he grabbed his arm and heaved him off the cot before Five was even fully awake, “It is time for training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought I wasn’t allowed to train,” Five said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reginald’s cane made contact with Five’s side, and he cried out as pain blossomed along the area. His hands flew down to protect himself, eyes widening in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Normally, a comment like that was met with a slap. His father normally reserved the cane for more severe punishments, like the time Five purposefully ignored Luther’s order on a mission because he was angry with him and ended up letting a bank robber escape. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No speaking unless a question has been asked,” Reginald said, glaring at Five through his monocle, “I need your assistance with today’s training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five bit back the many questions that were flying around in his mind. Assistance with training? Like what Vanya would do?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let his father grab his arm and guide him out of the vault and towards the elevator. He frowned and felt for his energy, trying to decide if he was rested enough to be able to do his spatial jumps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, not yet. He hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast before he had jumped. Without sustenance, any attempt at jumping would just result in him becoming sick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sometimes, he wished his powers acted more like Klaus’. It didn’t matter how tired Klaus was. His powers still worked just as well as any other time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He paid more attention in the elevator, counting how many floors passed before they arrived at the training rooms. Four floors. The vault was four floors underground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they arrived at the training room, the others were already there. Five’s eyes automatically sought out Ben, still a little unnerved by how old he was. His brother was frowning, and he stiffened at the sight of Five, but he said nothing, settling for standing silently towards the back of the group.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He saw Huxley first, and his palm stung, remembering how the man had managed to cut him without even touching him. It made him nervous. He relied on being able to keep people from touching him in fights, jumping out of the way before they could grab him. He didn’t know exactly how the man’s power worked, but the fact that he could injure him so easily, and was obviously so willing to do it, scared him. The man was twirling a knife in his hands, eerily reminiscent of how Diego would do it, but he smirked at Five and held the knife over his heart, as if he was about to stab himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amira, next to him, slapped his hand, and then her expression turned to Reginald, cold and indifferent. Levina, on the other hand, stood at the front of the group, bouncing on her heels in anticipation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five hadn’t met the other three before, and he let his eyes flick over them briefly. A girl with thick brown hair pulled into a ponytail and an orange skirt stood in the middle of the group, glancing between Reginald and Five with an odd expression on her face. Another woman with her brown hair in a bun and sunglasses covering her eyes stared straight ahead, as if she didn’t even see them come in. And then… there was a floating green and black cube.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes lingered on the cube, eyebrows furrowed, before Reginald spoke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For today’s training, Number Five will be simulating an enemy. He will be given ten minutes to hide somewhere in the Academy, and then you will need to capture him, using any means necessary outside of lethal force against each other. Whoever brings him to me will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to undergo extra training.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five’s stomach twisted. This was a type of training he had done before with his siblings, but with those, he trusted that they wouldn’t hurt each other too badly. He usually enjoyed this training, particularly if he got to be the enemy. His spatial jumps made it fun to mess with his siblings, letting them think they had him before jumping away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, though…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knew at least one of them had no qualms about injuring him, and Reginald had said to use any means necessary. Not only that, he still did not have enough energy to spatial jump. He was about to be on foot, and he had very little idea about what any of their powers were.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes snapped back to Ben. By the look in his eyes, he was realizing the same thing that Five was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Number Five will have a ten minute start. The whole Academy is free reign, with the exceptions of my quarters. Number Five, you may begin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His grip left Five’s arm, and he knew what that meant. He turned and ran from the room as fast as he could.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Five’s mind raced through his normal hiding spots whenever they played this during training. Several of them were immediately crossed out, as he knew the only way he would get there in time was with his jumps, and a few, like the closets he would sometimes go to, would leave him without any way of safely escaping if he was found. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This knowledge led him to Luther’s old bedroom, which he knew was near several places to hide. He grimaced at the new decorations around the room, but didn’t take time to ponder them before he pressed himself against the wall and listened closely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sounds came much too quickly for his liking, but it wasn’t footsteps. Instead, it was the sound of a dozen pairs of wings flying through the hall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear his heartbeat as he pressed his ear against the wall, eyebrows furrowed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of wings stopped, and then the doorknob was twisting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five reached for the nearest object that he could grab, a bright pink umbrella, and held it like a bat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door swung open. A flock of ravens flew in, and Five didn’t hesitate before swinging.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The umbrella connected with one of the ravens and sent it flying, and he went to hit another, but even as it slammed into the bird, the others dove towards him. One pecked his hand, and he just barely kept a hold of the umbrella, before the others were grabbing his shirt and lifting him into the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, let me go!” he cried out, swinging the umbrella and trying to hit the ravens as he was lifted out of the room and into the hallway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something slammed into him, and he hit the ground. He didn’t waste any time before scrambling to his feet, catching sight of the cube flying through the room before he took off down the hall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He briefly considered darting in another room, but they would be able to see that, so he raced for the stairs instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t reach them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was a foot away when electricity suddenly shot through his entire body. A strangled cry left his lips as his body stopped working, toppling forward and slamming his head onto the stairs as his body convulsed. A pained gasp escaped from him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was left with a painful, tingling sensation rushing through him, and he couldn’t get his limbs to cooperate before he was being flung over someone’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was the blonde woman, Levina. Five definitely hated that power of hers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He twisted in her grip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me go, crazy lady!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, kid. No can do. I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A beam of energy suddenly appeared in front of them, and Levina jumped back to avoid it. Her grip lessened just enough that Five was able to wiggle away. His shoulder slammed against the floor when he hit it, sending pain blossoming along his arm, but he paid it no mind as he scrambled down the hall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amira popped up in his vision briefly, going against Levina. She had some kind of laser vision. Huh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Levina’s hands sparkling, turned towards him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nope. He was not about to go through that again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrenaline ran through his veins, and before he could even think about it, he jumped through space.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reappeared on the floor above, sprawled out on the ground and panting. His body ached, and he knew that he definitely had overdone himself. He was nowhere near ready to have used his power. It left him drained and sore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bad idea,” he groaned under his breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hall that he was in was empty, but he knew that it wouldn’t last long. His muscles protested as he pushed himself back to his feet, breathing through his nose to stave off nausea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Footsteps sounded in his ears, and he scrambled into the closest door, throwing himself inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a bathroom, and he took a split second to take stock of what was around him before he grabbed a towel, breathing shakily as his mind soared through ways he could defend himself. He thought of the training that he had been put through, and he cursed at the realization of how much he depended on his spatial jumps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear someone opening doors and looking inside, and a high-pitched, giggly voice entered his ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on out, little Fivey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huxley. Of course it was Huxley. Why couldn’t it be anyone OTHER than Huxley. He didn’t understand his power, and he had no idea how he could defend himself against it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He slid behind the door, where he would be hidden if it was open, and gripped both ends of the towel in his hand. He waited, heart pounding, until the door opened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The moment the door opened, he jumped into action. He leapt onto Huxley’s back and wrapped the towel around his face so that he couldn’t see anything, and shoved him into the wall as hard as he could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasted no time before he leaped off of his back and went running down the hall, but he was only halfway down the hall went a blinding pain tore itself through his abdomen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hand flew to his stomach, and he felt blood seep through his fingers. He looked back, eyes widening as he saw Huxley with a knife inside of his own stomach, grinning at him like he hadn’t just stabbed himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What-” he grunted out as he lost his balance and fell to his knees, gasping in pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fog was suddenly wafting through the hallway. Five didn’t even have the energy to turn to find the source, but he heard Huxley let out an indignant cry. Birds flew above him, heading towards Huxley, and then someone was heaving him to his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A cry of pain left his lips at the sound.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” a feminine voice whispered, genuinely sounding apologetic, and through bleary eyes, he could see the woman with the orange skirt carrying him forwards, “Let’s get you back to the training room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huxley let out a shout, and Five’s head turned just in time to see tentacles grab him and wrench him into another room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben. He couldn’t see him, but he knew he was there. For a split second, terror shot through him, afraid that his brother might turn his power onto Five as well. He had never done that in the past, the only one of the six who refused to use their power in any way against their siblings, and usually forfeited this “game” of their father’s. But over sixteen years had passed. He had no idea if that was the same.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben didn’t come near him, though, settling for restraining Huxley, and Five let himself fall limp against the woman. He could feel blood seeping into his shirt, and his entire body ached.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dimly, he was suddenly aware of why his father did this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wanted to make sure Five was drained, to keep Five from using his power to escape from even being a possibility. He wanted him tired and weak, because he knew that was the only way he could control him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was barely aware as they arrived at the training room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good job, Carla,” Reginald said, “Please escort Number Five to the infirmary.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can just heal him now,” Carla suggested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did not ask you to heal him,” Reginald said, and his voice was darker, “Please escort Number Five to the infirmary.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, sir.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He lost consciousness before they got to the infirmary.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>He woke up alone, laying on the bed in the infirmary. His shirt was gone, and he looked down to see a bandage on his abdomen, right above his ribs. Blood was seeping through the blandage, but he couldn’t feel the injury. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked blearily, eyes flicking down to the IV in his arm. Pain medication. Huh. Their father normally didn’t like to put them on pain medication. He said it made them too floaty, not as alert, and it made them reliant on medication and more likely to make mistakes if they thought they had it in their back pocket. Sometimes, if it was really bad, he would have Allison rumor them into thinking it didn’t hurt, but other than that, they just dealt with it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It must be real bad if he was on medication.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Through the haziness, he realized that wasn’t exactly the case. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no way he could even attempt to get out like this. He could barely even move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door swung open, and Five lazily looked over as his mother entered the room, a smile on her lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning, sweetie. Are you in any pain?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Five said, feeling like he was speaking through water.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good, good,” she said, sitting on the bed beside him. Her fingers came out and gently cupped his cheek, and he fought the urge to lean into it, trying and failing to muster enough energy to glare at her. It ended up coming out more as a grimace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your wound is healing nicely,” she said, fingers ghosting over the bandage, “You will need to take it easy for a little bit, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hummed in response, and his eyes fluttered closed, letting himself fall back asleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(When he woke up again, he was back in the vault, alone and exhausted and in pain).</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Vanya found Luther by complete accident. Despite having searched for her siblings practically non-stop and coming up short, it wasn’t until she was going grocery shopping that she found him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was standing in front of the school supplies, frowning at the pencils as if they would come to life and beg him to choose them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Luther!” she called out, abandoning her shopping cart as she rushed over to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His head snapped over at her voice, and she saw his eyes widened exponentially. She was reminded of the time when he saw her at the farm: the fear and sorry in his eyes. That wasn’t there this time. Instead, there was relief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vanya!” he exclaimed, dropping the box of pencils that he was holding and throwing his arms around her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tensed, a memory crawling to the surface of her mind of the last time Luther had given her a hug, but it didn’t take long for her to relax into it. It didn’t feel the same. In this timeline, Luther had not nearly died and undergone that serum that had changed his body. He looked just like how Vanya remembered him when she left the Academy, albeit older. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you seen the others?” he asked as he pulled away, a smile spread across his face, “Allison? Klaus? Diego?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head and bit her lip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you’re the first,” she said, “I’ve been looking everywhere. I showed up in this house that I’ve never seen before, and I couldn’t find any method of contacting anyone. From what I’ve found out, after we were… abandoned by dad in this timeline, we didn’t keep in contact.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” he said as well, a frown on his lips, “It’s… weird. I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>teacher</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Vanya. And a </span>
  <em>
    <span>coach</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a light laugh at that, surprised. Out of all of them (besides Ben, obviously), Luther was the only one to have never even had a real job. Teacher definitely wasn’t something that she saw him becoming. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m an... entertainer, apparently,” she said. It still felt weird to say out loud. She was so used to being ordinary. Her newly realized powers were a lot to come to terms with anyway. The fact that this Vanya went on world tours was insane, “It’s honestly terrifying. I don’t know how Allison does it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like we have a lot to catch up on,” Luther said, “And figure out how to find the others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, about that… I went to the mansion. I thought you guys might have gone there. And uh… I found something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luther let out a hum and scratched his forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I drove by it, but it looked like people were living there now, so I didn’t go in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, people are. The Sparrow Academy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The… Sparrow?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled out her phone and quickly pulled up the dozens of tabs that she had opened, all discussing the Sparrow Academy, and showed it to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I ran into a girl named Carla. She has some kind of illusion power, and her illusions have power in the real world. She can hurt you or heal you in the illusions, and they happen in real life. She told me that she was part of the Sparrow Academy, so I looked it up. Apparently, after we were… kicked out, Dad got other kids like us and trained them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luther paled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Someone let Dad adopt other kids?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she said, “And he didn’t kick out all of us, either.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” he asked, eyes widening, “Who did he keep? Allison? Diego?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head, expression a mixture of grim and relief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ben.  He’s still there. He’s alive.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“No, she has her powers. I thought she might attack us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did she want?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She said she was looking for her siblings. Do you think she knows that he is here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How would she?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know! Dad never told us what kind of powers she has!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben frowned at the voices coming from Levina’s room. Normally, he wouldn’t care about what she and Carla were talking about, but there was something about their conversation that drew him closer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad said she didn’t have any powers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Her glowing eyes say otherwise,” Carla argued, “What if she is trying to get Number Five?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We won’t let her. Dad wants Number Five to stay here. I don’t know why, but he does, so we have to protect him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben’s eyes narrowed at the mention of Five. “Protect” was definitely an odd choice of words. He knew that Levina had electrocuted Five earlier, and while he knew that it had been a low voltage, just enough to stun him, it still harmed him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Five was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>kid</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was weird, since Ben had always imagined that if Five reappeared, he would still be the same age as him. He had dreamed of Five showing up and breaking Ben out of the mansion and taking him to find their siblings. He had always been a sort of protector, and Ben always imagined that he still would be if he ever came back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, though, Ben had to find a way to protect him instead, because this was a thirteen-year-old child and he was a thirty-year-old adult, and he had to keep his newly-younger brother safe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was doing a poor job of it so far.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about the others? Do you think they’re still out there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They might be, but we don’t need to worry about them. If they’re out there, they’re a horrible team. Dad said so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Number Seven looked powerful, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Realization flooded through him, combined with confusion and relief. Vanya? Carla had seen Vanya? And she had powers?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was alive?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So are we,” Levina said, “We can take her, and the others if they come. Don’t worry about it. We just need to train more, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right,” Carla responded, and Ben listened with his heart in his chest, “We can take them.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you guys enjoyed! This chapter was a little shorter than usual, but I was struggling with whether or not I wanted to include the next scene in this chapter or put it in the next, and I decided that it fit better in the next. </p>
<p>I am going to try and make a schedule. College starts back for me tomorrow, so I want to make sure I'm keeping things in order, so after this chapter, I will be posting on Tuesdays, with the occasional surprise update over the weekend. The next chapter will probably come Tuesday the 25th. However, if I get too excited, I may post one next weekend as well. It just depends on if I have the time. </p>
<p>Leave a comment and let me know what you think! Several people mentioned that Reginald was too smart to just keep Five in the vault, so here we get to see the second part of his plan, which is to keep him drained and weak so he can't use his powers. </p>
<p>And Vanya and Luther now know about Ben! And Ben knows about Vanya! Things are going to picking up from here.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Missions and Discoveries</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Diego runs across the Sparrows on a mission.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Five wasn’t sure how much time had passed the next time he woke up. He was alone this time, and his stomach flared in pain at every little movement. He felt a little more rested, though, and that was enough for him to push through the pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had to get out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was in unfamiliar territory, and it terrified him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five had grown up with a very rigid schedule, where they did the same thing every day and the only thing that ever changed was missions, and Five had only been on a handful of those. Things didn’t change at the Academy. Their dad didn’t change.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But… it did. He did. The whole Academy had changed, and Five wasn’t sure how to handle their father anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The unknown scared him, and his desire to escape the Academy had grown exponentially. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had always been at the back of his mind, spurring his time travel desires. Now, it was at full throttle, screaming at him to </span>
  <em>
    <span>get out.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure what he would do when he did get out, but he didn’t care about that. He just had to get away from his dad and these new super-powered adults.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The vault was pitch black and eerily silent. He shifted off of the lumpy cot and walked, blind, towards the wall, one hand in front of him and one clutching his wound. He shuffled forward, bare feet cold against the metal floor, until his hands touched the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He moved along the wall until he felt the window, looking out into the pitch black room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, preparing himself. Then, with a sudden movement, he pushed through space and forced himself right outside of the vault.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His feet stumbled when he appeared on the other side, and he hit the ground hard. His stomach screamed, and he had no doubt that he tore his stitches, but he paid it no mind. He would worry about it later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scrambling to his feet, he inched his way through the room, moving though the dark until he reached the elevator. His hands fumbled along the wall until they found the button.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He listened for the sound of the elevator doors opening before stepping in and leaning against the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had no plan, which was why when the elevator came to a stop on the ground floor and the doors opened to reveal Grace standing in front of them, he froze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where do you think you’re going, mister?” she asked, a kind smile on her face. He mustered enough energy to glare at her, “You’re going to pull your stitches moving around like this. Come on, sweetie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stepped into the elevator with him and placed her hands on his shoulders, keeping him steady. Her touch was gentle, but every fiber in his body screamed at it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was made by their father. She had no good will towards him. He knew that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where is everyone?” he asked instead, eyes flicking out just before the doors closed. The hall was empty, and the Academy was silent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re on a mission.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A mission?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nothing for you to worry about, dear.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get you settled, and I’ll find you some pain medication, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shot her a dirty look, but he didn’t really have any other option. He could barely walk, so it wasn’t like he could escape Grace, with all of her technology to keep him “safe.” Not when he was still so drained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His mind raced through the pros and cons of trying to escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” he bit out, admitting defeat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For now. He needed a bit more rest, then he would act.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would get out.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The makeshift costume was lacking, to say the least. Diego scowled at himself as he adjusted the cut-off ski mask around his eyes, and slid on the gloves, fingers newly cut off. A few months ago, the all-black outfit would have felt like home, begging him to put on. Now, he felt like an imposter, unfit for the outfit. It mocked him, reminding him of the children that lay sleeping in the room over, of the doctorate framed on his bedroom wall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dad told you you’re a hero. He told all of us. But what if he lied?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He unsheathed one of his knives, one that he had bought the other day on the way home from work since apparently, he had abandoned everything to do with the Umbrella Academy years ago in this timeline.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt both wrong and right in his hands, a confusing dynamic that made his skin itch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Care to explain your ensemble?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego’s head snapped over to where Klaus was standing, leaning against the door frame in a crop top and flowing black skirt. He was holding a cherry popsicle, and Diego arched an eyebrow at him, lazily pointing his knife at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Those are for the kids,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I seem to remember you referring to me as a man-child earlier today,” Klaus said, popsicle pointed mockingly at him, “Don’t dodge the question, my dear brother. What’s got you cosplaying as a knock-off batman?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego huffed as he turned from Klaus, scowling at himself at the mirror once more before stomping towards the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a robbery at the bank on fifth street,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Klaus tapped his finger against his chin in feigned thought, “That sounds like a perfect job for a cop. Like… perhaps your wife?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego flicked him off as he walked past.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Watch the kids,” he said, “I’ll be back later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think I ever signed up to be a babysitter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll pay you thirty bucks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just call me Nanny Klaus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego rolled his eyes as he walked out the door, glancing back to see Klaus giving a bow and waving at him with his ‘goodbye’ hand.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>By the time Diego arrived at the bank, the police were already there, standing back as they surveyed the scene. He was able to slip by through years of experience, avoiding Patch’s eye as she conversed with another officer, eyebrows pitched in a familiar way that Diego knew meant she was worried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could see a man peer out through the blinds of the bank. Bingo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes darted around the building, quickly searching for a way to get inside without being seen. Before he could act, though, his eyes caught sight of something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A green and black floating cube darted across the sky. It was just out of eyesight of the window, high enough that Diego was one of the only few people who saw it. A woman with a thick ponytail and an orange skirt rode on top of it. It came to a stop just above the bank and lowered suddenly, landing silently on the top of the building. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cube suddenly turned into a man around Diego’s age with dreadlocks and a matching orange uniform to the woman’s. Diego stared at the duo as they carefully made their way along the roof of the bank. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few officers had obviously noticed them as well, but no one acted. No one even shouted up to them or made any motion that would signal that they wanted them down, or anything that would alert the robbers of their presence. Obviously, they knew these people.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Who were they?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They disappeared inside the bank. Only a few seconds passed before there was suddenly shouts coming from inside, and then the crowd of people who had gathered around the bank suddenly parted as five other people in orange uniforms came running through, straight up to the front of the bank.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He just got a glimpse of them before they were inside. He didn’t waste any time before he took off after them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An officer shouted after him, but he paid them no attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had already run in and announced their presence. Stealth seemed to be out of the window now. He didn’t have to worry about being seen by the robbers if the others had already gone in and disrupted whatever plan the officers had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He got only five feet in the building when a flock of birds suddenly attacked him, causing him to scramble out of the way to avoid them. He spun around as they passed, knife drawn defensively, and watched as they formed into a woman. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, glaring at him, “Civilians stay outside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a civilian. I’m a hero,” he said, matching her expression, “Who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An odd expression crossed her face, like she was sure he was joking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Merla,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“More than a name. What are you doing here? And how did you-” he paused, quickly realizing his own answer, “Ah, okay, you’re one of us, I’m guessing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He threw his knife. She tensed and was suddenly a flock of birds again, obviously intending on dodging the knife, but he wasn’t planning on hitting her. Instead, it flew around her and embedded itself in the wall right behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment where nothing happened, the only sound in the room the flapping of wings, and then Merla was back, staring at him with piercing black eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re Number Two.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>of </span>
  </em>
  <span>you,” she corrected, eyes narrowed, “You shouldn’t be here. You aren’t part of the Academy anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>are?” he asked, then stopped, eyes widening, “Oh, wait. You are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It made sense. Of course Dad wouldn’t just abandon the Academy. He just abandoned </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Academy went on without them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course it did. He knew that their father didn’t care about them, just their abilities. It still stung.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He should have thought of that sooner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to leave,” Merla said. There was an urgency in her voice whose origin he was unsure of, “Now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can leave, you know,” he said, ignoring her, “You don’t have to stay at the academy. There’s a much better life than that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to go,” she repeated, as if she didn’t even hear him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Merla!” someone snapped as they entered the room, causing both Diego and the woman to turn towards the newcomer, “What do you think you’re doing? We have a mission. Let’s move a… long…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last time Diego had seen Ben, besides the brief moment at Icarus Theater, he had been a young teenager, dead not long after Five left. At Icarus Theater, he had been given a short view of what his brother would look like as an adult.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even without that, he would have recognized his brother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ben?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Diego?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His chest felt tight, disbelief flooding through him as he stared at the man. He was taller than when he died, and his eyes were more haunted. The orange uniform that he wore looked wrong on him. He had only ever seen his brother in the Umbrella Academy’s uniform.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re alive?” he whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he had learned of the changes in the timeline, this hadn’t even been a possibility in his mind. Ben was dead, had been for years. He had accepted it. He had (questionably) moved on from it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it made sense. From what he had found out, they had been kicked out at thirteen, before Ben would have died. He would have been adopted and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or… not?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was still at the Academy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you to leave,” Merla said furiously, but Diego paid her no mind, too focused on the fact that Ben was here, and alive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He threw himself forward, arms flying around Ben and squeezing, remembering how it had felt just days earlier when he had hugged Ben in Klaus’ body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was different. This was Ben, actual Ben, alive and in person and in his own body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hugged back, tight and firm and </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego didn’t even care that he was getting blood on his clothes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you were all dead,” Ben whispered into his ear, “Dad wouldn’t tell me where you went. I thought he killed you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head as he pulled back, a watery laugh leaving his lips. He gripped Ben’s shoulders as if the man would disappear if he let him go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He sent us away. Had mom drop us off at a mall. Told us we had a mission and couldn’t tell anyone who we were.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The explanation came out of nowhere, surprising him. That wasn’t something he remembered yet, but apparently his subconscious did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked and shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got adopted. I grew up, had a normal life. So did the others. I mean, I think. We all got separated, but I’ve found Klaus and Allison and they-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was cut off by electricity suddenly flowing through him. He seized, losing his footing and collapsing to the ground as all of his muscles betrayed him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t last long, even though it felt like an eternity, and he could hear Ben shouting at someone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-ina! What was that for? He’s not hurting anyone!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not supposed to talk to him,” a feminine voice said, just out of his line of sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s my </span>
  <em>
    <span>brother</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rough hands grabbed his shoulder, pulling him up, and he stumbled to his feet. He shot the newcomer a glare, a blonde woman with a high pigtail and furrowed eyebrows, and then darted his eyes over to Ben as he stood up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lovely new teammates you have here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben’s lips quirked briefly, but his eyes darkened, glancing as a few other people entered the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to go,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Ben-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rules are rules.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before he could react, Ben hugged him again tightly. Diego was surprised for a moment, but he hugged back, still wrapping his mind around what was going on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ben’s head turned, and he whispered into his ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five is at the academy. He time-travelled.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An image of Five, laying strewn out on the straw-covered floor of that barn in 1963, bloody and pale, flashed through his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” he breathed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Ben was already pulling away, following the rest of the Academy out of the bank. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“You’re never going to guess who I just saw.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus jumped from where he was napping on the couch, startled out of his sleep. He blinked blearily up at Diego in the doorway, uniform ruffled and… was that blood stains?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beyonce?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ben</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus sat up sharply, eyes widening at Diego’s answer. He stared at his face, searching for any sign of dishonesty, but found none.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Last I heard, Benny Boy took his ticket to heaven and left me all lonesome.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not in this timeline,” Diego said, and Klaus blinked, unable to comprehend, “He’s still at the Academy, with six other super-powered individuals that dad adopted after kicking us out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus let out a high, hysterical laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course he did. Dear old dad always had something up his sleeve, didn’t he?” he ran his hands over his face, “Ben’s alive?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, and that’s not all. So is Five, apparently.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For once in his life, Klaus couldn’t think of a response. His brain went blank, unable to keep up with the information thrown at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know all the information,” Diego said, collapsing in the chair across from him, eyes wide, “But… Dad sent us away when we were thirteen. Allison found the exact date, and it was after Five disappeared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Realization flooded over him. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened as he stared at Diego.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Baby</span>
  </em>
  <span> Five.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It said something about how Diego was feeling that he didn’t even correct him. Instead he nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have to get them out of there.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter was shorter than I would like, but I hope you guys enjoyed! </p>
<p>Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I'll see you guys next Tuesday!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Falling Into Place</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their plan was quite simple; they needed to make one.</p>
<p>Allison’s living room coffee table was littered with papers, each one an article on the Sparrow Academy or the Umbrella Academy’s disappearance. The smell of coffee permeated around the room, mingling with the clicks from the pen in Diego’s hand and the soft humming that left Klaus’ mouth. Allison shifted on the couch, the paper in her hand crinkling, red pen marks scattered across the page.</p>
<p>“Okay, this guy can just turn into an indestructible, flying cube,” Klaus said as he looked up from where he was sprawled across the couch, upper half of the body falling off. He shook the article that he was holding, “and you guys said that my powers were useless for combat.”</p>
<p>“They are,” Diego said with a scowl, “I watched that guy get them into that bank without any problems. I wouldn’t exactly call him useless.”</p>
<p>“I resent that,” Klaus said.</p>
<p>Allison rolled her eyes. She kicked Klaus’ foot and reached over, grabbing the paper from him.</p>
<p>“Okay, so this guy can turn into a cube,” she said, before pulling out the other article, “And there’s one who can turn into a flock of sparrows, and another who shoots a… laser out of her eyes?”</p>
<p>“And the guy who can project an injury that he gives himself onto someone else,” Diego said with a scowl, “He is definitely not someone that I want to go against. Him and the electricity girl.”</p>
<p>“And the illusion girl,” Klaus said as he pushed himself back up into a sitting position, “I would rather not see things that aren’t there. Well, not more than usual.”</p>
<p>Allison let out a hum of agreement as she ran her eyes over another article, frowning down at it. This one was about a mission from a year prior, where the Sparrow Academy took down a group of robots attacked Hollywood.</p>
<p>“Well, we’ll probably have to go against them,” Allison said, “From what Diego said, they aren’t going to let us just walk into the mansion and find Five and Ben.”</p>
<p>Diego let out a hum of agreement, but Klaus threw his hands in the air.</p>
<p>“Okay, I’m confused,” he said, “Are these good guys or bad guys?”</p>
<p>“The bad guys,” Diego said at the same time Allison said, “Neither.”</p>
<p>She shot him a warning glare.</p>
<p>“No, they are not the bad guys,” she said, “They’re just like us.”</p>
<p>“No, no, no,” Diego shook his head and stood up from his seat, his knife flicking back and forth in his hand, “They’re not like us. We left. We got out of there before he could turn us into mindless killing machines.”</p>
<p>“Luther didn’t,” Allison countered, “Is he the bad guy now?”</p>
<p>Diego didn’t respond. He just glared at her and sat back down, clutching his knife tighter in his hands. She let out a hum of victory.</p>
<p>“Exactly. We don’t know why they stayed, but I can promise that dad has been playing mind games with them, just like he did with us. We are going to get Five and Ben out of there, but we don’t want to hurt them.”</p>
<p>Klaus let out a light hum, kicking his feet back onto the coffee table and snatching another article from it. His eyes scanned it briefly, silently, and Allison took a sip of her coffee.</p>
<p>“Okay, but how are we going to get little Fivey out of there?” Klaus said suddenly, “And Benny boy. I can’t imagine they want to stay with dear old dad.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I don’t like the idea of a thirteen-year-old with him, either,” Allison said under her breath.</p>
<p>“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Diego snapped, “Do you have any ideas yet?”</p>
<p>Klaus didn’t, and neither did Allison. She grimaced and ran a hand over her face.</p>
<p>“We need to find Luther and Vanya,” she said instead, “We need everyone if we want to face this superhero group. From what these articles say, they’re powerful. Extremely powerful.”</p>
<p>“So are we,” Diego said.</p>
<p>“There’s three of us, and six of them. Seven if Ben sides with them. We need Vanya and Luther if we want to break them out.”</p>
<p>Before Diego could say something, Klaus spoke up, cutting him off.</p>
<p>“Where are those two hiding out anyway?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Allison said. She reached down and grabbed another article, this one different than the others, “But I think I know how to find Vanya.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>It was hard to keep track of time in the vault. Five woke up a few times, and every time, it was to pitch blackness. There were no clocks to tell him the time, and no matter how long he slept, he always felt like it wasn’t enough. He could feel his powers tingling under his skin, reminding him of how drained he was.</p>
<p>He grimaced to himself when he woke up, once again. Not for the first time, he wished that his powers were more like Klaus’ powers. As far as he knew, Klaus could use his power twenty-four hours a day without growing tired. He would give anything to be able to do that.</p>
<p>It was roughly twenty minutes after he awoke that he heard footsteps approaching. He sat up quickly, hissing lightly as it caused a jolt of pain up his torso.</p>
<p>Through the dirty window on the vault, he could see a dim light turn on, illuminating a slender figure approaching the vault.</p>
<p>He weighed the pros and cons of attacking them before deciding against it. He needed to bide his time. Attacking would only push him back longer. He had to get out as soon as possible.</p>
<p>The door swung open. Levina stepped in.</p>
<p>“Can I help you?” he asked, glaring at her. He didn’t forget how she had electrocuted him.</p>
<p>She shut the door behind her and sat a tray on the floor. A sandwich lay on the tray, along with a bottle of water. His stomach growled at the sight, reminding him of the meager amount of food he had been given since arriving in 2019.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Levina said, arching an eyebrow at him, “Do you want food or not?”</p>
<p>He didn’t answer, but his stomach growled loudly. She hummed.</p>
<p>“I thought so.”</p>
<p>She pushed the tray over with her foot, not moving closer to him. He waited for a moment before letting out a huff and gingerly pushing himself off the cot. He kept his eyes glued onto her as he approached the food like a stray dog approaching a stranger.</p>
<p>Once he reached it, he grabbed the sandwich and water bottle and backed up to the cot. He took a large bite of the sandwich before she could take it away.</p>
<p>He expected her to leave after bringing her the food, as Grace or Pogo did when they came down. She didn’t. Instead, she stood at the door, watching him with an odd expression on her face. He narrowed his eyes at her.</p>
<p>Several long minutes passed before either of them said anything.</p>
<p>“Why did you come down?” Five asked accusingly, unable to help his curiosity, “Mom and Pogo have been the only ones to bring me food. I didn’t think you knew where I was. If you know, then where’s Ben?”</p>
<p>Levina let out a soft hum. She shifted on her feet and let her eyes trail over him, as if she was trying to read his mind.</p>
<p>“Ben doesn’t know,” she said finally, “I’m Dad’s number one. He trusted me with this.”</p>
<p>“Number one?” Five repeated, frowning. He crossed his arms over his chest, chewing the last of his sandwich. Luther’s face flashed through his mind, “He doesn’t refer to you use numbers.”</p>
<p>“No, not directly. We already had names and lives before we arrived. You can’t start calling a group of teenagers by numbers and have them go along with it. Not like children. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have us ranked, though. Of course, the others don’t know that. Merla would not be happy if she knew she was number five.”</p>
<p>Five scoffed at that.</p>
<p>“So what? You’re proud that dad lies to you?”</p>
<p>“Dad <em>saved</em> us,” Levina hissed, fists clenched and sparking lightly, “Obviously, <em>you</em> wouldn’t understand that. You left, after everything dad did for you. You abandoned him and your team.”</p>
<p>He glared at her, but he couldn’t respond. She was right, after all. He had abandoned his family.</p>
<p>“Do you know what it’s like to develop powers and have no one around who can train you?” she asked him, taking a sudden step forward, “My parents had to lock me in the basement just so I wouldn’t hurt them. I had no control.  I nearly killed them on multiple occasions, simply because I couldn’t control myself. Dad saved me. He took me to the Academy and taught me control. I’m able to actually live my life because of him. I owe him my life! Do you understand that?”</p>
<p>He didn’t. Not really.</p>
<p>“What’s your point?”</p>
<p>Levina took a breath and glared at him. She moved close so that she was standing directly in front of him.</p>
<p>“<em>My point</em> is that you need to obey dad. Do what he says, and maybe he’ll let you out of here, even though it’s obvious you don’t deserve it. You never deserved to be part of the Academy. <em>We</em> don’t have time for such rebelliousness. There’s a world out there that needs saving.</p>
<p>Levina fell silent once she finished talking, staring at him. Her blonde hair glinted in the dim light that came from outside of the vault, silhouetting her body. He glared back at her.</p>
<p>She wasn’t going to guilt him into submission. She didn’t even know what she was talking about.</p>
<p>“I would like to get some sleep now,” he said instead.</p>
<p>Without even waiting to see if she took the hint, he turned over on the cot to face away from her.</p>
<p>Moments passed before he heard the heavy vault door open and close. Footsteps slowly faded away, and then the light turned off, returning him to darkness.</p>
<hr/>
<p>There was a line of people outside of the little shop when Allison arrived, buzzing with excitement. The line stretched down several blocks, groups of people holding books in their hand and chatting excitedly. It was a cloudy day, but it wasn’t forecasted to rain, so it gave the people just enough shade to be comfortable.</p>
<p>On the shop, a banner had been placed just under the name of it.</p>
<p>“Vanya Thompson Book Signing.”</p>
<p>Allison had found the book pretty quickly after learning of Vanya’s fame. It wasn’t the same book as the one that Allison had poured over in the previous timeline, furious at her sister’s actions and horrified at her own. Instead, this book focused much more on Vanya’s life after she left the Academy. In fact, the mentions of the Academy were few and far between, and they were never explicitly stated.</p>
<p>As far as the book mentioned, Vanya was born in Russia, adopted by a man in the States, and emotionally neglected by him until she was thirteen years old. She mentioned, briefly, how she always felt like an outsider from her siblings, and there was a chapter at the very beginning dedicated to Five’s disappearance and their subsequent abandonment. The Academy was never brought up, though. Instead, Vanya simply stated that her brother, the one sibling who gave her the time of day and treated her like she was important, disappeared one day, and then her father, who was never named, abandoned them.</p>
<p>The majority of the book focused on her adoption, learning to be a real teenager, and her YouTube career that led to the blossoming of her fame. Her mother was the shining star of the book, and Allison had to admit that the woman had been a hero when they were not. Willa Thompson had saved Vanya, and Vanya had made sure that her actions got the praise they deserved, even after her untimely death.</p>
<p>It was a new book, apparently, published just before they arrived in this timeline. Vanya’s first book signing would be in town, at the very shop that her mother had owned.</p>
<p>Allison arched her neck through the window, trying to see inside. Vanya wasn’t visible through the crowd of people, but there was a table, and books were being signed, so she knew she was in there.</p>
<p>If only she could find a way to talk to Vanya without-</p>
<p>“Allison?”</p>
<p>She spun around at the sound of the voice, mouth falling open in surprise. Coming down the streets, in a body untouched by their father’s experiments, was Luther. He looked surprised to see her, but there was a smile on his lips.</p>
<p>“Luther!” She exclaimed, rushing over to him. She threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly, afraid that if she let go, he would disappear again.</p>
<p>She pulled away after a moment, letting out a breathless laugh.</p>
<p>“I’ve been looking for you and Vanya everywhere!” She said, “I thought I would find her here. Not you!”</p>
<p>“She’s here, too. We met up a few days ago and have been sticking together, looking for you, Klaus, and Diego,” Luther responded, “I didn’t expect to find you here. You heard about Vanya’s book signing?”</p>
<p>She nodded, glancing back into the shop briefly. Someone moved, letting her catch a glimpse of Vanya, timid little Vanya, smiling at one of her fans.</p>
<p>“I found Diego and Klaus already,” she told him, “I’d love to have time to catch up, but there are more important things to talk about. Ben’s alive.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Luther said, “Vanya found that out. He’s at the mansion, in something called the Sparrow Academy.”</p>
<p>“That’s not all, though,” Allison said, “Five. Five’s alive.”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>Allison could tell that was something that Luther hadn’t known. His eyes widened, and his face paled dramatically. He shook his head.</p>
<p>“That’s… that’s impossible.”</p>
<p>“We think it’s Five when he was thirteen,” she explained, “Diego ran into Ben when the Sparrow Academy were on a mission. He said Five time travelled. He didn’t explain much more than that, but Dad didn’t kick us out until after Five left. Five landed in the apocalypse in our time, but that’s gone now.”</p>
<p>Realization flooded over Luther’s face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped. Then, finally, he said.</p>
<p>“He’s still a kid. An actual kid.”</p>
<p>She nodded gravely.</p>
<p>“And he’s at the Academy. With Dad.”</p>
<p>She nodded again.</p>
<p>“We have to get them out of there,” she said, “And we need your help. And Vanya’s.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>The moment Vanya found out that her brother was alive and a child and in the hands of the man who had abused them, they had to keep her from immediately storming the Academy and killing Reginald herself.</p>
<p>They reconvened at Allison’s house, and after calling Diego and Klaus to let them know of the new developments, the five of them all crowded in her living room.</p>
<p>Claire was at school. She would be for the next few hours. Just enough time to come up with a plan.</p>
<p>“Five is just a kid now,” Vanya said, shaking her head as if she still didn’t quite believe it, “He’s just a kid. We can’t just let a child go through all of that again. We know what dad does.”</p>
<p>“We’re not going to leave him there,” Diego said, arms crossed across his chest and a glare on his face, glued to the table in front of them, still littered with articles, “We’re going to get him out. We just have to figure out how.”</p>
<p>“They won’t just let us walk into the mansion and take him,” Vanya pointed out, “That Carla girl attacked me when I showed up there.”</p>
<p>Allison looked at her with wide eyes, but she quickly clarified.</p>
<p>“Well, attacked is a strong word. She made me hallucinate or something, and then she told me to leave. I ended up getting hit by a car, but she… healed me. Or it wasn’t real. I’m not exactly sure.”</p>
<p>Allison winced.</p>
<p>“They’re dangerous,” Diego said, “One of them electrocuted me.”</p>
<p>“Well, of course they’re dangerous,” Luther pointed out, “They’re like us… like Lila. And they’ve been training with Dad since they were thirteen. They’re loyal to him if they’ve stayed so long, and Dad isn’t going to want to even see us.”</p>
<p>“Maybe he won’t want Five,” Klaus piped in, “I mean, he sent us away. Maybe if we just ask nicely, he’ll hand him over.”</p>
<p>The four of them turned to Klaus with arched eyebrows, silent.</p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Diego said, “It’s Dad. If he hasn’t sent him away yet, he won’t. He must have some reason to want to keep Five.”</p>
<p>“He seemed to like him a lot more than us in 1963,” Vanya pointed out.</p>
<p>“Yeah, old man Five,” Allison corrected, “Not child Five. Five was the bane of Dad’s existence when we were kids. He was always giving him a hard time.”</p>
<p>A smile spread across Klaus’ mind, and he let out a laugh, remembering all the times that Five had stood up to their father when they were kids. Vanya gave a light grin, too.</p>
<p>“Look, if we’re going to get Five out of there, we need to prepare for a fight,” Luther said.</p>
<p>“What about Ben?” Klaus asked.</p>
<p>They fell silent. Ben was a problem that danced around in their minds, but no one had a solution to. Getting a child out of the Academy was one thing, but getting an adult was another. The last time they had seen this Ben was when they were thirteen. He had stayed at the Academy when they were kicked out. They had no idea what Ben had been through, and whether or not he was loyal to their father or stuck without his consent. For all they knew, he would help the Sparrows attack them if they showed up for Five.</p>
<p>“He seemed happy to see me,” Diego said, almost hesitantly, “but he followed orders rigidly, like how we would when we were kids. He doesn’t know anything except for the Academy. I don’t know if he would come.”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to fight him,” Vanya said timidly.</p>
<p>“Neither do I,” Allison admitted.</p>
<p>Klaus swallowed and frowned. The idea that Ben would fight against them didn’t even seem possible in his mind, but this wasn’t the same Ben who had followed him around after his death for so many years. His Ben was gone. This was someone else.</p>
<p>“We might have to,” Luther said, a grimace etched onto his face, “We can’t just leave a kid in that house. We can’t just leave Five.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t mean we have to hurt them,” Allison added, “We just have to hold them back until we get Five out of there. If Ben wants to come with us, he can, but we can’t force him.”</p>
<p>Klaus nodded grimly and lightly kicked the coffee table, a sigh leaving his lips. He didn’t want to leave Ben there, not when he was so close to having his brother back, even a version of his brother, but he knew there wasn’t much they could do. So, instead, he forced a smile on his face.</p>
<p>“Let’s get our little brother out of that place.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter is the one we've all been waiting for! The Umbrella Academy is going against the Sparrow Academy. Will they get to Five, or will the Sparrow Academy be too strong?<br/>Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Jailbreak</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Klaus was a child, the mansion had been his home. It had never been a happy home, but it was the only one he had ever known. After a long, grueling mission, it had been a sort of refuge. He could remember when he had come home dozens of times, bruised and sometimes bleeding (his powers were not the best for defense, nor were they the best for offense) and relax at the sight of the mansion, knowing he was safe.</p>
<p>Later, he would realize that he had never been safe at the Academy, and no matter what kind of people he ran into when he lived on the streets, the one place he always avoided seeking shelter in was the mansion.</p>
<p>Still, it never looked as imposing as it did now.</p>
<p>“Ben’s in there?” he said, gesturing at the building that he once called ‘home’ as he stepped out of Diego’s car, “And little Five?”</p>
<p>“Yep,” Diego said, one hand gripping a knife as he looked up at the building, “Remember. Get in, get Five and maybe Ben, and get out.”</p>
<p>“And try not to hurt anyone in the process,” Allison said as she walked up behind them, exiting her car with Luther and Vanya, “Remember, they aren’t our enemies.”</p>
<p>“Except dad,” Diego said, “Dad’s the enemy.”</p>
<p>Vanya’s lips quirked, but it didn’t last. Her eyes were flickering between brown and white, and he was pretty sure that he had seen her hands glow a few times. She was staring at the mansion with fury covering every inch of her face.</p>
<p>Klaus had a feeling it was going to be difficult to keep Vanya from hurting them if they tried to keep her from Five.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Luther said. He let out a breath and stared at the mansion pensively, “Let’s do this.”</p>
<p>They approached the door silently. Klaus stood at the back of the group, eyes flicking up and down the windows, hoping that maybe Ben would look out one.</p>
<p>“Remember the plan,” Allison said before knocking on the door. The sound echoed ominously, the rest of the world seeming to go silent in anticipation.</p>
<p>Footsteps approached the door, and then it swung open. Grace stood on the other end, a smile on her lips that faltered at the sight of the five of them standing at the door.</p>
<p>“Mom,” Diego whispered. Klaus grabbed his wrist as he stepped forward, stopping him.</p>
<p>Luther seemed to be caught off guard, but he rebounded quickly.</p>
<p>“Mom,” he said, a forced steadiness in his voice, “We’re here for Five.”</p>
<p>Her gaze flicked between each of them, lingering on Vanya’s glowing eyes.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid you must be mistaken,” she said, and the smile on her lips looked faker than Klaus could ever remember seeing on her face, “Number Five disappeared sixteen years ago. Remember?”</p>
<p>“We know that he’s here,” Vanya said dangerously, pushing past Luther so that she was standing at the front.</p>
<p>“Vanya,” Allison said, grabbing her arm, but she paid her no mind.</p>
<p>“Take us to Five.”</p>
<p>Klaus blinked at the fury in his sister’s voice. When she had gone crazy and tried to kill them, he couldn’t remember her speaking, but this was exactly how he assumed she would sound. It brought back some not-so-pleasant memories.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Grace said. She moved to shut the door.</p>
<p>Klaus saw it before it happened. Vanya tensed, and her hands began to glow threateningly. He reached out towards her, a protest on the tip of his tongue, but her head jerked back suddenly, and a force of energy exited her body.</p>
<p>The door flew open. Grace was flown back, slamming into the wall, and the chandelier over the door swung dangerously. Footsteps flooded Klaus’ ears as people came running towards them, alerted by the noise.</p>
<p>“That could have gone better,” Klaus said.</p>
<p>“Mom!” Diego shouted, rushing forward. He kneeled down beside her, but she was already getting up, completely unharmed. Instead, Diego spun towards Vanya, “Mom’s <em>not</em> our enemy, Vanya!”</p>
<p>“I know that,” Vanya said, voice deathly calm and eyes glowing steadily white, “She’s fine.”</p>
<p>“You didn’t have to-“</p>
<p>“Guys,” Allison interrupted, “We have more important problems to worry about.”</p>
<p>At her words, Klaus spun around just in time to see a flock of sparrows fly into the room. He ducked as they flew over them, narrowly missing puncturing his body. The fluttering of wings flooded his ears before disappearing as the birds formed into a dark-haired woman.</p>
<p>“You aren’t welcome here,” she said, “Leave.”</p>
<p>“We aren’t here to hurt anyone,” Luther said, placatingly holding up a hand, “We just want Five.”</p>
<p>The woman’s eyes narrowed at that and ran over each of them. Vanya glared at her. Diego clenched his fists at his sides. Klaus waved.</p>
<p>“You’re the Umbrella Academy,” she said, an accusing tone lingering in her voice.</p>
<p>“Aw, she recognizes us!” Klaus said.</p>
<p>“I’d recognize the failed Academy anywhere,” a new voice said.</p>
<p>Klaus’ head snapped to the side as another woman entered, tall and blonde and glaring at them. What looked like static electricity crackled up and down her arms, and Diego let out a groan at the sight.</p>
<p>“Oh, not you.”</p>
<p>“Pleasure to see you, too,” Levina said with a scowl, “Reunion over. You need to leave.”</p>
<p>“We’re not leaving without Five,” Vanya said.</p>
<p>If possible, Levina’s scowl deepened. Her eyes flickered briefly, and the electricity around her arms visibly crackled.</p>
<p>“Carla,” she said.</p>
<p>“Carla?” Klaus repeated.</p>
<p>As if in response to his question, fog suddenly spilled into the room. Klaus yelped, jumping in the air briefly as if to escape it, as if it would burn when it touched, but it didn’t. He couldn’t even feel it as it rose to his mid-calf and stopped.</p>
<p>He looked up, startled, and came to a horrifying realization.</p>
<p>He was alone.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The moment the illusion spread through the room, Allison jumped into action.  She had done extensive research on this power, as she knew it posed the most danger to their plan. If they were seeing things that weren’t there, how were they supposed to find Five?</p>
<p>Her eyes scanned the room. To her, it was empty, but she knew better. It was an illusion. She hadn’t actually transported her to an alternate dimension.</p>
<p>“Luther?” she called, “Diego?”</p>
<p>She didn’t get an answer, but she wasn’t really expecting one. She searched through the room for any sign of Carla, but found none.</p>
<p>Cursing under her breath, she moved to the side, where she last remembered Vanya standing, and reached out blindly for her until she touched her arm.</p>
<p>Vanya jerked back, and Allison suddenly flew backwards and hit the wall.</p>
<p>Right. Maybe she shouldn’t touch her sister when she couldn’t see her. She could still feel energy rushing out of Vanya.</p>
<p>She groaned as she pushed herself off the floor, brushing herself off. Okay. New plan.</p>
<p>“I heard a rumor,” she spoke to the empty room, hoping that Carla was within earshot, “that this illusion disappeared.”</p>
<p>Instantly, the fog vanished, and her siblings appeared in front of her. Vanya was floating off the ground, entire body glowing and energy rolling off her in waves. The others had been thrown to the ground by her power as well, but they were all slowly climbing up.</p>
<p>Levina and Merla had also been knocked off their feet, and Allison could see them eyeing Vanya with wide eyes. Allison looked up at where, on the landing, Carla was standing, just out of range of Vanya’s powers. Her eyes were wide like her sisters, but she was staring at Allison instead, mouth open in surprise.</p>
<p>“We don’t want to- ah!” Allison cried out as a piercing pain sprung through her stomach. Her hands flew to her torso, blood spilling between her fingers. A maniacal laugh entered her ears, and she quickly looked up to see a scarred man plunging a knife into his own stomach.</p>
<p>“Allison!” Luther cried out, rushing over to her.</p>
<p>Diego spun on his heel and threw a knife through the air. It sunk into Huxley’s shoulder, but it didn’t have the effect that he wanted. The man laughed at his sudden injury, and then Diego was gasping as his own shoulder started to bleed.</p>
<p>“Don’t hurt him,” Klaus shouted, “That’s the voodoo dude. Vanya, can you-“</p>
<p>He didn’t even finish his shout before Vanya acted. Huxley flew to the wall, and Vanya’s powers pinned him there, along with Merla, Levina, and Carla.</p>
<p>Allison’s legs buckled underneath her. Luther caught her before she hit the ground, pain radiating from her stomach.</p>
<p>“Luther,” she gasped out, “Klaus. Find Five. Vanya, keep them restrained. Diego-“</p>
<p>Her brother was already moving. Blood gushed from his shoulder, but he paid it no mind.</p>
<p>“Find Ben,” he said, clutching a knife in his hand. His eyes flicked from the four Sparrow Members briefly before he took off down the hall.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Ben!” Diego called as he stepped out into hall, listening to Levina shout in protest and Huxley grunt in frustration, “Ben!”</p>
<p>A beam of light suddenly flashed beside him, heat radiating from it as it just barely missed him, singeing the hair on his arm.</p>
<p>He spun around and found himself suddenly face to face with a woman with curly brown hair and freckles all over her face. Her eyes glowed red, but unlike Levina, she didn’t hold herself in an aggressive manner, instead leaning against the wall with her arms crossed across her chest, eyebrows raised at him.</p>
<p>“Could you and your siblings be a little quieter? I was in the middle of reading a book.”</p>
<p>“If <em>your</em> siblings didn’t attack us, we would,” Diego shot back, “You’re Amira, right?”</p>
<p>She smirked. Her eyes faded back into a dark brown.</p>
<p>“That’s me. You must be Diego. Your stutter’s gotten better.”</p>
<p>Diego faltered, eyebrows furrowing.</p>
<p>“How do you-“</p>
<p>“Ben talks about you guys all the time during free time. Diego this. Allison that. Luther can bench over a thousand pounds. Vanya plays the prettiest music on the violin. Klaus tells the best jokes.”</p>
<p>Diego swallowed at her words. His stomach twisted. In their timeline, they had all lived without Ben. Here, Ben had lived without them.</p>
<p>“Where is he?” he asked her.</p>
<p>“Right here.”</p>
<p>Diego spun around at the new voice. Ben stood at the other end of the hall, dressed in that ridiculous orange uniform and frowning.</p>
<p>“Ben.”</p>
<p>“Diego, what’s going on?”</p>
<p>“We’re here to get Five,” Diego said, “And you, if you want to come.”</p>
<p>“We?”</p>
<p>“Luther, Allison, Klaus, and Vanya,” Diego said.</p>
<p>Ben stepped forward, eyebrows furrowed. He shook his head.</p>
<p>“But… dad…”</p>
<p>“Screw dad,” Diego hissed out. His arm moved sharply and he hissed at the pain that radiated from his shoulder.</p>
<p>“You’re hurt,” Ben stepped forward suddenly.</p>
<p>Diego grimaced lightly. He brought a hand up to the bleeding wound. It was his shoulder. The biggest danger he faced was blood loss. He hadn’t aimed to kill, only injure.</p>
<p>“Not important right now. Do you know where Five is?”</p>
<p>Ben’s eyes flicked behind Diego, where Amira was standing, then back to Diego.</p>
<p>“I… I don’t know. Dad took him somewhere. I haven’t seen him in a week.”</p>
<p>“Besides,” Amira spoke up behind him, “Dad’s not going to let you just take him.”</p>
<p>Diego laughed, turning back to her.</p>
<p>“Dad isn’t going to be able to stop us.”</p>
<p>“You sure about that?” she cocked her head at him, “If I know dad, he’s probably with Five already. You’re running out of time.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Five had been awake for roughly an hour, staring at the ceiling and listening to his powers to try and feel if he was ready yet or not, when he heard the sound of the elevator door opening.</p>
<p>Huh. He must have slept longer than he thought. He didn’t think it was time for a meal to be brought down.</p>
<p>He arched his neck to look through the dirty window and was surprised to see his father approaching the vault.</p>
<p>Odd. Usually it was Mom or Pogo. He didn’t seem to have any food with him either. Instead, he was glaring at nothing in particular as he stormed towards the vault.</p>
<p>It took only a moment before the door was opened.</p>
<p>“What’s the occasion?” he asked sarcastically, sending the man a glare.</p>
<p>He didn’t get a response. Instead, his father grabbed his arm in a tight, unyielding grip and heaved him off of the cot. He withheld the yelp that threatened to leave his lips as the man jostled his injury.</p>
<p>“Come with me.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Five’s bedroom was empty of people and had been transformed into a room that Klaus didn’t even recognize, covered with decorations and posters lining the wall that Five would have scoffed at. Even as a kid, he had a calendar on one wall and a chalkboard on another. That was it.</p>
<p>“Five?” He called. He turned around to go check another room.</p>
<p>Instead, he found himself face to face with a floating black and green cube.</p>
<p>He jumped in surprise and held up his hands.</p>
<p>“Don’t scare me like that, dude,” he said, “I’m fragile!”</p>
<p> The cube didn’t speak, but it gave off an eerie hum.</p>
<p>“You know, you don’t have to talk to me in that tone of voice,” Klaus said, “Have you seen Five?”</p>
<p>Instead of answering, the cube transformed back into its human counterpart. A man stood in front of him, eyes narrowed, and then before Klaus could say something else, his fist flew out and connected with the side of Klaus’ head.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Five!” Luther called as he made his way through the mansion, “Five!”</p>
<p>He didn’t run into anyone, neither the sparrows nor Five. Every room he checked came up empty, and it took a lot of self-control to keep himself from staring at the newly-decorated bedrooms, both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It was weird.</p>
<p>Not as weird as the Sparrow Academy, though.</p>
<p>He had just rounded the corner to check the library when a sharp voice spoke up.</p>
<p>“Number One.”</p>
<p>He spun at the familiar voice, cold pooling in his stomach.</p>
<p>“Dad?”</p>
<p>Reginald was standing at the end of the hall, right in front of the elevator. He looked composed, as if his ex-children hadn’t just broken into his house, but there was a disappointed glower on his face.</p>
<p>Luther’s gaze fell to the form beside him, though.</p>
<p>Five was staring at Luther with wide eyes. He was dressed in the shorts that he’d always worn, but he only had on the white button-up shirt that he’d always worn under the vest and jacket. There was dried blood on it, and he was pale, as if he had just seen a ghost. Reginald had a tight grip on his arm.</p>
<p>“Five?”</p>
<p>“Luther?” Five said, as if he wasn’t quite sure who he was looking at.</p>
<p>“Number One,” Reginald said, expression stony, “I am very disappointed in you. Leave, immediately.”</p>
<p>It took Luther a moment to compose himself. He swallowed and shook his head, stepping forward.</p>
<p>“We’re not leaving without Five.”</p>
<p>“On the contrary. Number Five will be staying here. You are no longer welcome.”</p>
<p>Luther clenched his jaw and his fists, stepping forward. Reginald did not move, but Luther thought he saw something flicker in his expression.</p>
<p>“Let him go,” he said, “I won’t let him stay here with you, Reginald.”</p>
<p>“Number One!” Reginald barked, “Exit the premises. Do not fool yourself into thinking that you and your failure of a team can band together to form a prison break for this delinquent child.”</p>
<p>“Did you forget 1963?” Luther asked suddenly.</p>
<p>Confusion spread across Five’s face, but something different flashed on Reginald’s. He straightened.</p>
<p>“You’ve returned.”</p>
<p>“We have, and we succeeded. We stopped the apocalypse, twice I might add, without your help. We can take you and your knockoff Academy. In fact, Vanya currently has four of them restrained right now.”</p>
<p>“Vanya?” Five spoke up suddenly, “Vanya’s here?”</p>
<p>A light smile appeared on Luther’s face and he nodded.</p>
<p>“They all are.”</p>
<p>Five grinned and then, suddenly, he blinked through the air and gone.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Five had enough energy for a jump for the first time in a while. It was farther than the time he jumped out of the vault, as he landed a few floors up.</p>
<p>He hadn’t meant to land there, but that was okay. He was away from Reginald, and he just had to find the others.</p>
<p>He stumbled briefly as he stood up, but he quickly regained composure and took off at a job down the hall.</p>
<p>“Vanya! Allison!” he called out.</p>
<p>“Five!” a voice shouted, loud and relieved. Footsteps came running towards him and he stiffened, worried that it was one of the Sparrows.</p>
<p>The man that came around the corner was… unfamiliar at first. He was tall, wearing black, and wielding several knives, and it took Five only a second to realize who this man was.</p>
<p>“Diego?”</p>
<p>A relieved smile spread over Diego’s face as he rushed over, and suddenly Five was pulled into a hug, tight and warm. He could feel Diego’s arms wrap around him, holding him close.</p>
<p>He stiffened, but he didn’t move away.</p>
<p>“What’s with you guys and hugs?” he mumbled against Diego’s chest. His lips quirked up, and a warm feeling spread across his chest.</p>
<p>Weird.</p>
<p>Someone laughed. Diego pulled away just as Five was about to reciprocate the hug, and Five saw that Amira and Ben were standing off to the side, watching the whole exchange. There was a smile on Ben’s face, and Amira was smirking.</p>
<p>“Okay, okay,” Diego said, “Look, we need to go now. Ben, are you coming?”</p>
<p>The smile flickered on Ben’s face.</p>
<p>“I… I don’t know if I can-“</p>
<p>“He is,” Amira said. She leaned against the wall and let out a hum, reaching over and lightly punching Ben in the arm, “Get out of here, Benny Boy.”</p>
<p>“What?” Ben’s eyes widened as he turned to Amira.</p>
<p>“Alright, great,” Diego said. He grabbed Five’s wrist and tugged him down the hall, “Let’s get out of here, Ben. The cars are outside.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“If you don’t let me go right now, I’ll freaking kill you,” Levina said, kicking her legs.</p>
<p>Vanya glared at her, keeping her, along with the three others, pinned to the wall. She could feel her power radiating through her body and flowing out of her. It threatened to take over, to kill the four of them right now, and she struggled to hold it back.</p>
<p>“Vanya!”</p>
<p>She saw him enter out of the corner of her eyes, wide-eyed and staring at her with shock. Diego followed behind him, along with Ben and another woman that she had only seen in pictures.</p>
<p>“How are you… what?”</p>
<p>Vanya had almost forgotten that this was Five at thirteen. He had never known Vanya to have powers.</p>
<p>Without even realizing it, her powers died down, too thrown off guard by Five’s appearance and surprise.</p>
<p>She stared at Five, a smile growing over her face.</p>
<p>“Five,” she said, “I missed you.”</p>
<p>“Vanya, look out!”</p>
<p>Electricity suddenly spread throughout her body. Levina, free from Vanya’s restraints, had attacked her when her head was turned, electricity flowing from her hands to Vanya.</p>
<p>Her mind went blank as she felt her nerves light up, her muscles contracting. Shouting erupted around her, but another voice cut through it: one that had haunted her nightmares since returning to 2019.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Now, let’s start with a simple question. Who are you?”</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Klaus woke up in the doorway of Five’s old bedroom. His head was pounding, and when he brought his hand up to it, it came away wet and red.</p>
<p>“Oh, that is not ideal,” he groaned out.</p>
<p>The room spun as he pushed himself to his feet, stumbling.</p>
<p>The sound of shouting entered his ears first, but it was quickly overshadowed by the feeling of floors and walls trembling, as if a powerful earthquake had hit the area. A picture crashed off the wall and shattered on the ground, glass spraying near him, and the lights flickered dangerously.</p>
<p>The man who had punched him was standing nearby, eyes trained on the ceiling nervously.</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” the man asked him shakily, as if he hadn’t just knocked him out for an indeterminate amount of time.</p>
<p>It took a moment for the dots to connect in Klaus’ concussed mind, but when it did, his eyes widened. He cursed loudly. He had been in this situation before.</p>
<p>“Vanya.”</p>
<p>A crash sounded, and he saw parts of the ceiling crumbled down. The ground underneath him shook wildly.</p>
<p>“What about Vanya?” the man asked, eyes wide as he turned to him.</p>
<p>“Well, last time this happened, this place was destroyed.”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>Above Klaus, a section of the wall crumbled and began to fall. He rolled out of the way just in time.</p>
<p>“We have to get out of here.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you guys enjoyed this one! In case you're confused, Levina electrocuted Vanya, triggering her powers like when she was tortured by the FBI, as well as triggering a memory from it. <br/>Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Sorry for leaving on a cliffhanger. Next chapter will be out a week from today to show the aftermath of this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Control</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warnings: this chapter will contain references to child abandonment as well as some violence and injures.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The moment the electricity hit Vanya, an explosion seemed to blast from her body. Five had only a moment to shout his sister’s name in horror at seeing the girl electrocuted before his body was thrown backwards. His head slammed into the wall, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up on the floor, covered by debris and head aching.</p>
<p>Violent energy was still rolling off of Vanya in waves. His sister was floating in the air, eyes white and body convulsing.</p>
<p>Levina was pinned against the wall. Her face was turning blue, and her eyes were wide, filled with terror. She struggled helplessly, barely able to move. The others in the room had been tossed aside like Five. Amira, Huxley, and Diego were unconscious (at least, that’s what Five hoped), crumpled on the ground, pieces of wall and ceiling littering their bodies. Ben was crouching on the ground, a hand held in front of him as he tried to step forward, shouts drowned out by the roar from Vanya’s powers, and Carla was crawling towards the door.</p>
<p>“What the-“ he cut himself off with a groan, trying desperately to push himself to his feet as the powers that radiated from his sister threatened to slam him into the wall again. The entire mansion was creaking dangerously, “Vanya!”</p>
<p>His yell was drowned out by the roar. Pieces of ceiling crumbled, landing on the floor in front of him, and he stared with wide eyes.</p>
<p>Yeah. This wasn’t good. This was far from good, actually.</p>
<p>Since when did Vanya have <em>powers</em>?</p>
<p>He didn’t hear the footsteps as they approached, but he saw as a man who must be Klaus appeared in the doorway, clutching it to avoid being thrown back. There was blood in his hair, and he stumbled lightly, shouting something that Five couldn’t hear.</p>
<p>Klaus’ eyes landed on him. They widened, and then the man was struggling over to him.</p>
<p>“Five!” he shouted, voice barely audible, “Good to see you!”</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” he demanded, grabbing onto his brother’s shirt sleeve.</p>
<p>It would be great to catch up, but now wasn’t really a good time.</p>
<p>“Yeah, not completely sure. I just got here!” Klaus shouted, “But if we don’t stop her, she could destroy the world.”</p>
<p>“<em>What</em>?”</p>
<p>“She could destroy the world!”</p>
<p>Five stared at him incredulously and turned back to Vanya right as part of the sibling crumbled and landed on Huxley’s unconscious form.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Klaus looked at Levina pinned against the wall and let out a shout, pointing at the blonde.</p>
<p>“Did she electrocute her?”</p>
<p>Five nodded frantically.</p>
<p>“I know what’s wrong!” Klaus said, “She’s having a flashback. We need… we need that Carla girl!”</p>
<p>Carla. Five wasn’t sure what Klaus was on, but his eyes flicked around the room anyway, falling on Carla. The woman was near the front door, hands shielding her head as the energy seemed to increase.</p>
<p>“There!”</p>
<p>“Perfect!” Klaus said, chipper. He spun around towards where the floating cube was hovering in the air nearby. Five hadn’t even noticed it, too focused on his sister’s destruction, “Cubert! Can you get me over there?”</p>
<p>The cube guy was one that Five had not personally met, but he was willing to bet that wasn’t his name. It let out a low hum, and then Klaus clutched onto it as it darted through the air with ease, dragging him along with it.</p>
<p>When they arrived by Carla, Five could see Klaus talking to the girl, and she was nodding, and he could only hope that his brother knew what he was doing.</p>
<p>The house shook violently, and Five’s arms flew over his head as debris rained over him. Portions of the ceiling were falling away. It wouldn’t be long until the whole mansion came down.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>It took three days off her medicine, after the bottle that her father had left her with to run out, for Vanya’s powers to hit.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It happened during a nightmare. Over and over again, her mind conjured up images of Five, dead or dying or hurt, taunting her with the unknown of her favorite brother’s fate.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Then she was being shaken awake, and she cried out, the hand on her shoulder suddenly leaving as a woman shouted.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Her eyes flew open, and she saw her foster mother laying on the floor nearby and groaning. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Willa!” she gasped out, quickly climbing out of her bed and approaching the woman, “Oh my- are you okay? What happened?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The woman’s brown eyes slowly blinked open, staring up at Vanya warily.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Earthquake,” she whispered, “I was coming to get you.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Earthquake?” Vanya repeats, eyebrows furrowed. As far as she knew, they didn’t get earthquakes where they lived, “How did you get on the floor?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I… I’m not sure,” Willa said. She went to push herself into a sitting position, and Vanya helped her up, and her eyes stayed glued to her, “Vanya… I think you did it.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“What?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Vanya’s eyebrows furrowed. She had told her foster mother about the Umbrella Academy, even though she didn’t even tell her social worker about that, and Willa knew that Vanya didn’t have powers.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You were having a nightmare, and it stopped when you woke up,” Willa said, blinking at her. There wasn’t any fear in her eyes, but rather curiosity, “I think you have powers.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“That’s impossible. Dad always said-“</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Vanya,” Willa said, “It’s okay. We’ll figure this out.”</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>It got worse before it got better. While Vanya had been enrolled in public school for the first time when she was put in Willa’s car, she was pulled out almost instantly. Every time she got upset over something, whether a nightmare or an article in the newspaper, or something someone said in the streets, her powers kicked in. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Willa helped her through it, even when she shattered every window in the house after seeing a news report on the television speculating that the Umbrella Academy had turned evil and run away from their hero father.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Remember,” she told her one day, holding Vanya’s hands while the girl cried after yet another nightmare. The lightbulb in her ceiling fan had shattered, and invisible wind was blowing through the room, “Take deep breaths. Everything is fine. I’m here. You’re safe. Just breathe. Come on, follow my breathing. Happy thoughts.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Vanya did. She took slow, deep breaths and thought of her family. Her new family, with Willa, who loved her and took care of her and never made her feel left out. Her mother, who walked her through this, who didn’t even think about sending her away despite the trouble she had caused, who loved listening to her play the violin.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Willa, who helped her control her powers even though she had absolutely no idea what she was doing.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“There you go,” Willa said gently. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When Vanya opened her eyes again, everything was still. Willa smiled at her.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“See? You can do it. You can control it,” she said, “I knew you could do it. I’m so proud of you, Vanny.”</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>It hurt. It hurt so much. The electricity that coursed through her veins caused her body to jolt, and even after it was gone, it lingered. Fear had overcome her, spreading through her body and taking hold, and she lashed out.</p>
<p>It was the FBI agents again. They wanted information, information that she couldn’t give. They were torturing her. They were going to kill her.</p>
<p>Someone touched her shoulder. She flung back, trying to push them away, but they didn’t move.</p>
<p>“Vanya,” a voice spoke, soft and gentle and calm, “Vanya, sweetie. You need to calm down.”</p>
<p>She jolted at the sound of the voice and spun around in the air, but all she could see was fog all around her.</p>
<p>“Mom?”</p>
<p>“Vanya, you need to control your powers,” her mother’s voice said, “You’re going to tear the place down.”</p>
<p>“They’re hurting me.”</p>
<p>“You’re hurting them.”</p>
<p>The fog ebbed back, and Vanya could see Diego, sprawled out on the ground and covered by debris, unconscious. Ben was near him, awake but injured, blood trickling down his head. He shouted something at her that she couldn’t quite hear, but it was Ben, alive. Not the Ben she knew, but Ben.</p>
<p>And there was Five, small and young, actually young this time, staring at her with wide eyes.</p>
<p>Only thirteen years old, and he was hurt, because of her.</p>
<p>“No,” she whispered, but the energy grew as she grew distressed, “No, no, no. I don’t want to hurt them.”</p>
<p>“Then you need to-“</p>
<p>Part of the ceiling came crashing down. She saw Five dive out of the way to avoid being buried.</p>
<p>“Vanya!” her mother shouted, “You can do this! Just calm down!”</p>
<p>
  <em>Just calm down.</em>
</p>
<p>She swallowed and closed her eyes. The energy around her roared, but she focused on her breathing, remembering, for the first time, how her mother would calm her down.</p>
<p>She had learned control in this timeline. She had learned it slowly, but properly, with a woman who had given her a childhood.</p>
<p>She remembered.</p>
<p>Her mother guided her through it, speaking through a fog that Vanya knew she wasn’t able to cause, and then, slowly, she felt the energy in the air begin to ebb away.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Five watched, eyes wide, as Carla formed the illusion. At any other time, he would be blinking over there and attacking the girl for using her powers against his sister, but this time… this time it was necessary.</p>
<p>He heard the voice of an unknown mother speak, and his eyebrows furrowed, watching as his sister begin to freak out over what she was doing. Then the power was growing, and the ceiling was crumbling, and Five just barely avoided being buried.</p>
<p>And then it was gone.</p>
<p>Vanya collapsed on the ground, panting and crying. Her sobs echoed through the silent, crumbled mansion.</p>
<p>“Vanya,” Ben gasped out, and Five watched as the man rushed towards her and begin to help her up.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” she cried out, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>Five swallowed thickly, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his sister, who was always so meek and quiet and passive, who was the only one to not have powers, <em>had</em> powers and had nearly killed all of them with them.</p>
<p>Luther was suddenly at the door, eyes wide. He was bleeding from several wounds that Five had not seen on him earlier, but he paid them no mind.</p>
<p>“Luther,” Ben called, and Five could see the conflict in his eyes as he tried to figure out whether or not he should take the time to reunite with him, but instead he said, “Get Diego and Five out of here.”</p>
<p>Five’s eyes immediately spun around the room, falling on his other brother, who was unconscious and crumpled on the ground. Luther saw him at the same time and Five watched, frozen at his spot, and quickly scooped him effortlessly into his arms.</p>
<p>He could see Carla rushing to Levina, and Merla was rushing to the cube guy, and then Klaus was suddenly at his side.</p>
<p>“Come on, Fivey,” he said, voice strained but chipper, “This place is definitely still dangerous, so why don’t we head out?”</p>
<p>He pulled away when Klaus reached for him, and he saw how Klaus’s face twisted sadly. He swallowed, guilt forming in his stomach, and nodded.</p>
<p>Before Klaus could say something else, Five blinked away.</p>
<p>He appeared outside of the mansion. His knees buckled underneath him and he stumbled, scraping his hands and knees on the concrete underneath him. His vision swam, and his stomach turned.</p>
<p>Right. He still wasn’t really ready to be teleporting that much. Stupid.</p>
<p>“Five!”</p>
<p>He looked up, and there was Allison, the one sibling he hadn’t seen yet. She was leaning against a car with a jacket pressed against a wound on her stomach. It was bleeding heavily, and the jacket was nearly soaked with blood. Her skin was pale, and her hands were shaky, but her gaze was locked on him.</p>
<p>“Allison?” he said, “What happened?”</p>
<p>“Got stabbed,” she said, “Or… something like that. Voodoo dude got me.”</p>
<p>“Huxley,” he said in realization, and anger formed in his stomach at the thought of the man. He stumbled over to her, pushing the nausea away.</p>
<p>She nodded shortly.</p>
<p>“What happened in there?” she asked, her voice shaking, “Good to see you, by the way.”</p>
<p>“Uh…” he trailed off briefly, still trying and failing to wrap his mind around what he saw, “Vanya… Uh… she has powers? Levina electrocuted her and she…”</p>
<p>Allison let loose a string of swears that surprised him, and then she was shouting out at someone, waving them over.</p>
<p>He turned to see his other siblings coming out of the destroyed mansion. Luther was carrying Diego bridle style, while Ben and Klaus were helping Vanya out. Behind them, the mansion was nearly demolished. The roof had caved in, and every window had been blasted open. It looked as if a strong wind would knock it completely over.</p>
<p>Five couldn’t find it in him to care, especially when he saw Amira following them out with her siblings.</p>
<p>Their dad was nowhere to be found. Neither was Pogo or Grace, though he was pretty sure he saw Grace peek out of one of the shattered windows.</p>
<p>“Luther, you’re going to have to drive,” Allison said, gesturing blindly at the mini van that she was leaning against. She swallowed hard and pressed against the stab wound on her stomach, “Take us to my place. I have a first aid kit there. I need stitches.”</p>
<p>“Huxley got you, didn’t he?” Ben asked, wincing at the sight of her. She nodded, and he swallowed before turning towards the Sparrow Academy, “Let me get help.”</p>
<p>He jogged over to them, but Five’s attention was drawn to Vanya, who suddenly through her arms around Five. He jumped in surprise, but when he realized who it was, he relaxed.</p>
<p>For the first time since he could ever remember, he hugged back.</p>
<p>“Five,” she whispered, holding him against her chest, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay,” he said, unsure of what else to say.</p>
<p>“I missed you,” she kept going, “So much. And you’re alive, and you’re… you’re thirteen! You’re thirteen! You’re not an old man anymore.</p>
<p>His eyebrows furrowed at that.</p>
<p>“Of course I’m not,” he said, “What does that-“</p>
<p>Ben’s return interrupted them. Vanya pulled away as the man approached with Carla by his side. She stiffened at the sight of Carla, but she stayed calm.</p>
<p>Carla looked equally disturbed, eyes glued on Vanya as she approached, but she walked towards Allison.</p>
<p>“What’s the problem?” she asked Allison.</p>
<p>Something flickered in his sister’s eyes. Understanding. Realization.</p>
<p>“I was stabbed,” she said.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe you,” Carla responded.</p>
<p>There was a beat, and then Allison pulled the bloodied jacket away from her torso. She lifted up her bloody shirt enough to see the skin underneath. Though it was stained red, there was no sign of an injury.</p>
<p>A shaky, relieved smile appeared on Allison’s face.</p>
<p>“Diego was stabbed too,” she said, and Five’s eyes were drawn towards his brother’s bloody shoulder. He’d forgotten about that, too focused on everything else.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe you,” Carla repeated, and then Luther was checking Diego’s shoulder, and it, too, was healed.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Allison said.</p>
<p>Surprise flickered on Carla’s face, but then she smiled and nodded.</p>
<p>“You’re welcome,” she said, “You guys can handle the other bumps and bruises, right?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Vanya said, before anyone else could speak. Five could tell that she wanted her away from them, “Yeah, we’re good now.”</p>
<p>Five hadn’t realized that Carla could move so fast, but the girl practically flew away from them at that, eyes flicking back to Vanya, as if terrified that the girl would suddenly lash out and kill her.</p>
<p>“Can we get out of here before dad shows up?” Klaus said suddenly, “I’d rather avoid him if we could.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Five added, “Me too.”</p>
<p>He didn’t think he could handle his dad right now. Not after everything that had just happened. His head was pounding, both from when he hit the wall and from all of the craziness that just happened.</p>
<p>“We’ll come back for the other car,” Allison said as she climbed into the van, “Climb in, guys. We’re going home.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>The seven of them cramming into the van was not as bad as Five expected. He ended up in the backseat next to Vanya, while Allison and Ben sat in the middle with Diego draped across their laps. Luther drove, with Klaus babbling in the passenger’s seat as if they were all going out for pizza (which, actually, he suggested a few times).</p>
<p>The rest of them were quiet, though. Allison and Ben talked softly to each other about Diego, Allison flipping between fussing over what was definitely a concussion and worrying about when he would wake up, and telling Ben how happy she was to see him. Luther and Vanya were silent, though, and Five found himself drifting between staring out the window and letting himself soak in every image of his siblings.</p>
<p>His siblings. They were here, and they were alive, and they were together. All seven of them. Their dad wasn’t there, and he was out of his grip, and he felt safe for the first time since…</p>
<p>Well, ever.</p>
<p>A sudden mumbling caught his attention.</p>
<p>“Where are w- what happened?”</p>
<p>“Diego!” Allison sighed in relief, “Hey, you’re okay. We’re in the car, heading back to my place. You got knocked out.”</p>
<p>Diego groaned, and Five arched his neck to see as the man twisted in his position.</p>
<p>“Eudora’s gonna kill me.”</p>
<p>Five frowned and glanced at Vanya.</p>
<p>“Who’s Eudora?”</p>
<p>“His wife,” Vanya answered, and she grinned a bit at the way Five’s eyes grew at that.</p>
<p>Wife? He mouthed the word to himself. It didn’t seem plausible that any of his siblings were married.</p>
<p>He supposed it made sense, though. They were adults. Adults did that.</p>
<p>Gross.</p>
<p>“She sure is,” Allison agreed, and Five could see the same confusion across Ben’s face that he felt.</p>
<p>“How’s your head?” Ben asked instead of commenting.</p>
<p>Diego’s eyes were unfocused as they crawled over to Ben, but a smile crossed his face. He didn’t answer the question. Instead, he pushed himself into a sitting position, peering at him through half-lidded eyes.</p>
<p>“You’re alive,” he said, and then a troubled expression crossed his face, “Where’s Five?”</p>
<p>“Right here,” Five spoke up.</p>
<p>Diego’s eyes slowly made their way over to him, and his smile widened. He leaned back in Allison’s lap.</p>
<p>“We did it,” he said.</p>
<p>Klaus, who had twisted around in his seat, laughed.</p>
<p>“We did,” he said, “Now, how about pizza?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed this one! It was a little later than normal, but I had a bunch of school stuff that I had to get done. Next chapter will be here next Tuesday, and we'll get some aftermath, and definitely much more family bonding and proper reunions. Leave a comment and let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After a small argument in the car, the siblings ended up picking up pizza and taking it to Allison’s house instead of eating in anywhere (as they were sure to draw a lot of attention in their current state). Five found himself staring at the pizza boxes piled in Klaus’ lap as they drove, fascinated.</p><p>Their father had never tolerated pizza. He had it only once before a year ago (or was it seventeen years ago?) when they snuck out to go to Griddy’s and Klaus ended up convincing them to try something new.  He had enjoyed his slice of cheese pizza back then, too unsure of the new food to go as crazy as Klaus (who had ordered his with nearly every topping available, only to pick off most of them), but the variety available was overwhelming.</p><p>Everything was overwhelming actually. He was sitting in a car, surrounded by his six siblings who were all suddenly sixteen years older than him. Vanya had powers, Diego was apparently married, and Allison had already mentioned a daughter more than once. They had all changed so much.</p><p>It hurt more than he wanted to admit. It wasn’t too long ago for him that Ben was coming to him for help about Klaus’s training, and Vanya was desperately shaking her head at him during dinner while he talked back to their father. The men and women in the car were like shadows of the family he once knew.</p><p>He was mostly silent through the whole car ride, answering a few questions here and there but mostly sitting with furrowed eyebrows as he stared at the six of them. By the time they arrived, he already had a huge headache.</p><p>“Claire will be home in an hour,” Allison said, chewing on her bottom lip as she helped Diego, who was still a little out of it, out of the car.</p><p>Five hopped out of the car, holding back the wince as his stitches pulled, and looked up at the house in front of them.</p><p>The large house was not as big as the mansion, but it was still fairly sizeable. It was a pretty house with a rose garden at the front, tended carefully, and he found himself fascinated with the small instance of domesticity.</p><p>He lingered behind them as they headed inside, but he didn’t miss how they kept turning around to look at him, as if they wanted to make sure he was actually there.</p><p>The inside of Allison’s house was even more surprising than the outside. The furniture, though obviously nice and expensive, was not the pristine and ancient furniture that had resided in the mansion. Instead, as he could see when Diego laid across the couch, looked comfortable in a way that the mansion’s furniture never had been. The toys that littered the floor were also something that he had never seen before, a stark reminder of his sister’s new life.</p><p>His eyes flicked over to Ben, noting the way he hung by the door, staring at the scene with a guarded expression.</p><p>Klaus set the pizzas on the coffee table, opened up the top box, and stole a piece of Hawaiian pizza. He spun around, making a show of eating it to Diego while the other wrinkled his nose in disgust. He laughed, mouth full of food, and spun back around to Five and Ben.</p><p>“Eat up,” he said.</p><p>Five didn’t move. His feet felt stuck to the floor, mind blanking.</p><p>He blinked, and suddenly Vanya was in front of him, holding a plate with two pieces of cheese pizza. He stared at it for a moment before taking it from her, letting her lead him over to a nearby chair.</p><p>“Are you injured?” she asked, voice quiet.</p><p>He took a seat and shook his head.</p><p>“I’m fine.”</p><p>An odd look passed over her face, but he paid no attention to it, focused instead on the greasy pizza in front of him. He could hear Allison and Luther talking, and Klaus was rambling on to Ben, talking as if they had only been separated for a few days, and he could feel Ben’s confusion permeating in the air.</p><p>Finally, Five found it in himself to speak.</p><p>“What just happened?”</p><p>The five siblings looked at each other, having a silent conversation with each other. Five frowned at them, mind desperately trying and failing to connect the dots.</p><p>Luther cleared his throat and offered a strained smile.</p><p>“It’s a long story.”</p><p>“Well, it looks like we have time,” Five said.</p>
<hr/><p>Allison glanced at Luther, unsure, but she could see the determined look on his face.</p><p>So many problems had arisen because some of them had held back information. They needed to get everything out in the open. They would worry about everything else later.</p><p>“Okay,” Allison said slowly, turning towards Five and Ben, “Well, first, you need to understand that this is really complicated. We are actually from a different timeline. Well, kind of. Our conscious merged with the lives that we lived in this timeline, but in our timeline, Dad never sent us away.”</p><p>“Wait,” Ben interrupted, eyebrows furrowed, “What are you talking about?”</p><p>“We messed stuff up,” Diego said, running a hand over his face, “We accidentally changed the timeline when we were in 1963. I don’t know exactly what we did, but whatever it was led to Dad kicking us out after Five jumped in this timeline.”</p><p>She could see the confusion in Ben’s face, and she could see Five’s mind racing as he tried to figure out what they were saying.</p><p>“Okay,” Allison said as she tried to figure out how to explain what happened to the two of them, “I think everything was the same up until Five time-travelling,” she said, nodding at her youngest brother, “But in the original timeline, Dad never sent us away. We grew up, and eventually we left the Academy on our own. Well, except for Luther.”</p><p>Luther grimaced at the reminder, and Klaus spoke up.</p><p>“Well, not <em>all</em> of us.”</p><p>She sucked in a breath at that. A flash of Ben’s bloodied body came into her mind. The guilt that had permeated in her for years afterwards returned.</p><p>No one spoke for a moment, trying to figure out how to break the news. Then, Diego said it first.</p><p>“Ben,” he said, “You died on a mission, not long after Five left.</p><p>Allison saw Five’s head snap to Ben, who didn’t react except for his eyes widening slightly at that.</p><p>“We all eventually left. Once you two were gone,” she said to Five and Ben, “Things broke apart at the Academy, and most of us didn’t want to stay. I left and never looked back. I didn’t return to the Academy until 2019, when we got the news that Dad had died.”</p>
<hr/><p>The explanation was long and complicated. At some point, a little girl entered the house, and the explanation paused as Allison guided her to her room with instructions for Luther to continue.</p><p>“So, wait,” Five said after they finally seemed to come to an end, mind racing to comprehend the fact that apparently he had been a 58-year-old man in his thirteen-year-old body who had spent 40 years alone in the apocalypse, become an assassin, and then died in a barn in 1963, “So is this Commission still after you?”</p><p>“No, Herb’s in control of the commission now, and he decided that he would let us go,” Diego said, “That’s behind us now… I think.”</p><p>“And Vanya has powers,” Ben repeated, “And Dad knew about them. Those pills were…”</p><p>Vanya nodded, fiddling with her sleeve.</p><p>“He was drugging me since I was four,” she said, “Suppressing my powers. I couldn’t control them at first. I’m still not 100%.”</p><p>“And Klaus was part of a cult?” Five asked.</p><p>“Leader of a cult,” Diego said, at the same time Klaus said, “It’s a spiritual community.”</p><p>Ben let out a groan, running a hand over his face, and Five blinked at his siblings.</p><p>It… made sense, in a weird sort of way. The whole thing was crazy and sounded like a made-up science fiction novel.</p><p>But then again… that’s what their life felt like. And he already knew that time travel existed. It wasn’t impossible.</p><p>It was just crazy.</p><p>“That’s… a lot,” Ben said.</p><p>“It is,” Luther said, “Try living it.”</p><p>Five frowned, still working through everything in his mind. The amount of information that he had suddenly gotten in the last few hours was mind-boggling, as was just how much of his life had changed.</p><p>He couldn’t think of a proper response.</p><p>So, instead, he stood up abruptly, wavered on his feet, and said, “Uh… where am I staying?”</p><p>“Allison has a guest room,” Vanya said, “You can stay there tonight, and we’ll figure everything else out tomorrow.”</p><p>He swallowed and nodded briefly before turning on his feet and heading down a hallway blindly, needing to find somewhere to be alone.</p>
<hr/><p>Vanya watched Five make his way down the hall. She thought about following, but Diego grabbed her arm, shaking his head briefly.</p><p>“Give him some time,” he said, “That was a lot of information, especially for a kid.”</p><p>Klaus laughed, but it was high-pitched and etched with sorrow.</p><p>“Still can’t believe he is actually thirteen,” he said, “Man, what was he even like at thirteen? I’m so used to the little gremlin.”</p><p>“He’s still a little gremlin,” Ben said, but there was a fond smile on his lips. It fell after a moment, “What are we going to do now?”</p><p>Vanya shrugged. They hadn’t thought this far ahead. They had been so focused on getting Five and Ben out of the mansion that they hadn’t made any plans for what they would do afterwards. Five was thirteen, a literal child out of time, and Ben was part of the Sparrow Academy and had never had a life outside of it.</p><p>“We’ll figure it out tomorrow,” Luther said, “It’s been a long day, and Diego still needs to pick up his kids from daycare.”</p><p>Diego let out a long string of curses, and Vanya arched an eyebrow at him as he scrambled off the couch.</p><p>“Whoa,” she said, right before he collapsed, “Someone needs to go with you. You’re not fit to drive.”</p><p>“I’ll take him,” Luther said. He grabbed Diego and heaved him back so that he was standing up straight, “But I won’t protect you from your wife.”</p><p>Diego made a face and flicked him off.</p><p>“Vanya, Klaus, you guys stay here. Someone let Allison know that we’re done so she can release Claire.”</p><p>Ben’s face suddenly brightened at the realization that he could officially meet his niece, and Vanya grinned. Her brother might have changed a lot in this new timeline, but he was still Ben.</p><p>Klaus bounded off down the hall to find Allison as Luther helped Diego out to the car, leaving Vanya and Ben alone.</p><p>It was quiet for a moment, but then Vanya spoke up, voice quiet.</p><p>“I want to thank you,” She said, “For saving me back I 1963.”</p><p>“It wasn’t me,” Ben responded, frowning.</p><p>“No, it wasn’t,” she swallowed at that, trying to remind herself that this was not the same Ben, “But it was, in a way, and I just want you to know that you’re the reason the world didn’t end. If it hadn’t been for you, none of us would have ever even been born.”</p><p>Ben didn’t answer immediately. He frowned in thought, silent.</p><p>She remembered what he had asked her for back then, the other Ben. He had asked for a hug. He hadn’t had one in years, and if life under Reginald had continued in the same way that it had been like under the Umbrella Academy, she was sure that it had been the same.</p><p>So, when she didn’t get an answer, she simply moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, leaning into his body. It was warm and sturdy in a way that it hadn’t been in her mind, and she could feel the tears blossoming in her eyes.</p><p>He hugged back tightly, holding her in his arms, and she heard him let out a shuttering breath.</p><p>Then, like a needle popping a balloon, it was over.</p><p>“Uuuuunclllllleeee Beeeeeeeeen!”</p><p>Vanya pulled away just in time for Claire to barrel down the hall and wrap her arms around his legs. She let out a watery laugh, watching as the girl begin to babble.</p><p>“Mommy has told me all about you!” she said cheerfully, “I’ve always wanted to meet you. And I can meet Uncle Five soon, too! Everyone from the stories!”</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Allison enter the room with Klaus, smiling fondly as Ben knelt down to talk to Claire.</p><p>What happened next didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were whole again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was a short one, but it was either go ahead and post it like it is or post late, so I decided to just post it. I got busy with school and didn't have time to write more.<br/>Next chapter will have Eudora, finally, and we'll get some information on how they are going to move forward, as well as deal with the fact that these siblings have trauma stacked to the heavens.<br/>Thank you everyone for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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